Tales of a Journey
by RoGuE-WhItE-DrAgOn
Summary: Lloyd's happily married, has a son, and thinks life can't get any better. What happens when Genis and Raine arrive one day at his house, carrying an injured Orochi? Lloyd's sent on a journey to save Sheena. I changed the summary .
1. Prologue

Tales of a Journey

By Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, I'm just a fan.

Authors note: I'm assuming that since the game is called Tales of Symphonia, that Symphonia is what they call the world when both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant combine into one world. If I'm wrong, I apologize, this is just my assumption.

Chapter 1 – Prologue

My name is Lloyd Irving, and I once partook in the Journey of World Regeneration. That adventure has long since been over. The good memories, and the difficult ones, are all in my past. I haven't seen any of the group for more than fifteen years. With the exception of my wife, Colette, of course.

Genis and the Professor went on a trip shortly after going back to Iselia. They said they were going to study all the changes in our new world. Tethe'alla and Sylvarant; our new home Symphonia. Haven't seen them since.

Presea went back to Ozette, to rebuild it. Regal went back to his company. Zelos back to his manner, and now is in search of a wife.

That's basically everyone, except her. Sheena…

Sheena and I weren't on very good terms when she left. The plan at first was that she would go to Iselia with Genis, Colette, the Professor and I. I thought I loved her, but one day she just up and left. It was only two years after that, that Colette and I began seeing eachother, and another year after that till we married. All Sheena left when she went, was a note that said 'I'm not ready'.

Anyways, that about brings me to the present. Colette and I have a son about ten years old, named Mattrim. He looks a lot like his mother (kind of acts like her too:P). We live in her parents old house, because Phaidra died, and her father lives in a smaller house now, next to us.

Today, as usual, was sunny, warm, and generally normal. I wasn't quite sure what to think when someone knocked on the door, and when I opened it, Genis, and Rain stood there, carrying a barely conscious Orochi with them.

"Wha..?"  
Was all I could get out

"Mizuho was attacked, Lloyd, Sheena and all the others were taken by a bunch of elves."

Shocked and amazed at seeing my friends there, I stepped aside and let them enter. Mizuho was attacked? Who would do that? Who would even know (besides us) where it was?

I know it's short, but I wanted to start this, and I didn't want to add too much for the prologue. The next chapter will be longer. R&R, thanks for reading


	2. A new Journey Begins

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS, Namco does.

Chapter 2 – A New Journey Begins

Orochi was placed in the guest room, allowing Raine the space she needed to tend to Orochi's wounds. I sat with Genis in the living room, Colette sitting fretfully beside me, our son sitting on her lap. I wanted to ease my friends tension, but wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

"Genis…"

I began hesitantly, taking at peek at the guest room door before I continued

"…what happened?"

Genis took a deep breath, his shoulders shaking slightly, and replied

"Raine and I have been wondering around Symphonia for years, studying the differences and similarities in the world since both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla became one. We went to Mizuho about six months ago, where we stayed, taking a break from all our travels. We stayed with Sheena while we were there, and about three weeks ago, several men came to Sheena's home, questioning her about the Summon Spirits."

Genis stopped speaking as Raine came into the room, a tired expression on her face. She sad down beside her brother, and said

"He should be fine."

Genis nodded, a relieved look on his face. I wanted to ask Genis to continue, but the Professor continued where he left off.

"The men weren't half-elves, but were dressed quite similar to the Desians. When Seena refused to answer their questions, saying that the world no longer needed Summon Spirits, they became enraged, and threatened to harm the village if she didn't go with them. Orochi and a few other men from Mizuho who were there as well, 'kindly' escorted them out of the village. Barely two days ago, they came back with several dozen other men, and attacked Mizuho just like they said they would. Sheena tired using Volt to get rid o the attackers, but they,"

Raine paused to stare at me hard for a moment. Her intense gaze making me nervous. She continued, almost carefully.

"they forced her to send Volt away, and after entering the village, and defeating Mizuho's warriors, took Sheena, and most of the other villagers away. They burned Mizuho to the ground. Besides those taken, Genis, Orochi and myself, are the only other survivors. We came here, Lloyd, because we need you help to save them."

I nodded my head slowly, digesting their words. They were leaving something, I just knew it, but I could always find out later.

"Colette,"

I began, turning towards my wife and son. Colette looked sad, and steeled herself for what she knew I was going to say.

"I have to help them."

"I wouldn't expect you to do differently, Lloyd."

Colette replied softly.

"Dad?"

Mattrim looked at me in confusion.

"Is everything going to be ok?"

I smiled at him reassuringly

"Of course it is."

I didn't feel very confidant about the words I uttered. Something didn't bode well about this all, and I had a bad feeling about it.

The next morning, after digging my twin bladed swords from an old chest in my room, and gathering some other belongings needed for the trip, I hugged and kissed my small family. Orochi was left in the care of my wife, and Genis, Raine and I set out, intent on our new journey.

I know it's short, but that's because I'm still introducing the, uh, plot. I'll be sure to update soon, I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review. c'ya


	3. Together Again

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness Rage)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS, Namco does.

Chapter 3 – back together

After traveling all day, we stopped in a small clearing, and set up camp. It was just like old times. Three of us camped around the fire. It made me realize how much I missed traveling with my friends. Though somber at best right now, it felt the same. I pulled out my twin swords from their sheaths, one from each of my dads, and laid them on the ground carefully beside me. Easy reach should I need them. I had first watch, so Genis and Raine were getting ready for bed.

Getting ready, of course, being the key words. Both half-elves sat on their mats restlessly. Raine kept shooting me half curious, half glaring stares. Genis kept fidgeting with his blanket. It was rather difficult to sit there, silently. Maybe it wasn't like when we first started our adventures

"What is it?"

I finally growled. I could only take so many strange looks from the Professor. She gave me an innocently confused look and said

"What's what, Lloyd?"

I frowned at her, and looked back at Genis. Nope, he'd suddenly decided to sleep, and currently had his back facing me. Turning my attention back to Professor, I found her staring at me again. Growling slightly, I asked, in a vain attempt to be civil

"Why do you keep staring at me?"

She laughed, nervously, and replied solemnly

"You have changed, Lloyd."

What was that supposed to mean? I remained silent, giving her a blank look. She opened and closed her mouth several times, then finally settled with

"Good night."

She lay down, rolled over, with her back facing me as well. What was with those two?

Early that morning, we packed camp back up, and set out again, we were just outside the ruined city of Mizuho, and already we could smell the ash from the fire that had destroyed to secluded village.

"Remind me again why we came back here?"

Genis asked, covering his eyes with one hand as Raine and I surveyed the complete damage done by the fires.

"We're looking for any sort of clue that could tell us where they took Sheena and the others. Foot prints for example."

Raine replied simply. I nodded in agreement, and wondered off.

The entire village was little more than a heap of rock and ash. Half the surrounding forest was like-wise burnt to a crisp. I tensed when I heard Genis and the Professor calling my name urgently. Would those men have returned here? Were we being attacked? I ran back to my two friends, to find a third person there. A man, slightly older than me, stood with the pair, shaking hands with the half-elves. I stopped where I was, and watched the three, completely, totally, confused.

"Lloyd!"

Genis called when he saw me, I stared at the man for a moment, curious. He was wearing black and red from head to toe. Loose fitted black pants, silk black sleeveless shirt, with a long red vest. Red hair that went to his shoulders, tied back at the nape of his neck. A black head band kept loose hair from falling in his face. My jaw dropped when I realized who it was. Zelos. How'd he get here?

Zelos had his usual stupid grin on, and walked towards me

"Hey, Lloyd, buddy, how ya doin?"

Had he gotten taller? I shrugged in response

"Pretty good, and yourself?"

Well, pretty good except the Sheena situation.

"Well, pretty much the same. I'm getting married, you know."

He grimaced at this, and looked suddenly depressed as his eyes scanned the area.

"Anyone I know?"

I asked, Raine and Genis came to stand with us.

"You'll find out when you meet her, Lloyd."

Raine cut in before Zelos could reply. I frowned at her for a moment, and shrugged it off. Finding where Sheena was, was more important right now.

"Hey, I'll get Regal and Presea a second."

Zelos took off, going through the village and called for the two. My jaw dropped, and I quirked an eyebrow at Genis and Raine.

"How'd they know to come here?"

Genis and Raine shrugged, and replied

"Well, Zelos was going to get married here, today."

Genis laughed nervously, and continued

"I thought we told you."

I shook my head, and frowned at him

"You guys aren't telling me something. What is it? You didn't tell me Zelos was getting married, and you keep staring at me all weird. What the heck is going on?"

Brother and sister looked at each other a little uneasily. Before either could reply, Zelos, came running back, with Regal and Presea in tow. The two changed nearly as much as Zelos did in appearances. Presea had grown taller, and matured quite a bit. Her pink hair was pulled back in a single ponytail, and instead of the dress she always used to wear (which of course wouldn't fit her now, she was almost as tall as Genis and I), she wore pink pants, with a black tank-top, and black finger-tip-less gloves that reached her elbows. Glancing at Genis, I almost laughed, he obviously liked her still. He was nearly drooling. Regal no longer had his hands cuffed together, and wore a business suit. Mostly black, with a red tie.

"Lloyd, it is good to see you again. How is Collette?"

Presea asked with a smile. I smiled back and replied

"She's doing good, and what about you?"

"I'm fine."

I looked at Regal, and asked him the same thing

"I've been good, Lloyd. What's happened here?"

Zelos, I noticed, no longer looked happy to see us, but anxious as he looked around at the destroyed buildings of Mizuho.

"Genis?"

He could probably explain better that I could, being how he was here when it happened. He did just that, almost word-for-word how he told me. Raine stepped in to explain how they brought Orochi to my place, and left him there with Collette. Zelos grinned, and asked

"You and Collette, huh?"

"Yeah."

Genis spoke up with a grin

"They've got a kid too, Zelos."

"Oh? Hey Lloyd, didn't you lo-"

Raine interrupted, pointing a finger to the north of where we stood, her eyes wide.

"They came back?"

Genis sounded shocked. I turned my attention to where Raine was pointing, and saw several men walking towards us, in two neat columns, with one man leading them. We drew our weapons, and prepared for an attack.

Whoa, that took me a while to update. I tried to make it longer than the other, and I think I might have moved things a long a little…too…quickly. Well, review, I'd love to see what you guys think of it.


	4. Lan

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness's Rage)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS in any way.

Chapter 4 – Lan

The approaching men stopped within five meters of where we stood. Their leader stepped toward us, saying

"Our master orders your surrender."

I gave them a blank stare. How did they know we'd be here? How did they know who we were?

"Give me a break, like we'd surrender to the likes of you."

Zelos arrogantly replied. The man glared at him, and replied

"Then we'll have to use force."

Without further word, half a dozen men attacked us. _Like this'll be hard_ I thought to myself, easily disarming the two men who attacked me. I moved past them, and attacked their leader. With guys like this, there was only one way to get answers from them. We _would_ find Sheena.

The leader drew his sword, and smirked.

"You're Lloyd, aren't you?"

I grinned, and replied

"Who are you to ask for my name?"

May have sounded arrogant, but I enjoyed saying it. The man glared at me in reply, and lunged, thrusting his sword towards my stomach. I parried it with the sword in my left hand, and used my foot to kick him in the stomach. Didn't want him dead yet, after all. He grunted, before slashing upwards towards my chest. This time I used both swords to block it, in a scissor like fashion. I twisted my swords, with his caught in between. Without a weapon, and my swords pointed to his stomach and throat, I muttered

"Pathetic. How'd you expect to beat us?"

He glared at me, and replied

"We didn't think there would be this many of you."

"Where have you taken Sheena?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, and replied

"The Summoner?"

I could hear the others approaching behind me. No doubt they'd defeated the other men. My friends stood beside me, each staring intently at the man.

"Yes, where is she?"

He stared at me for a long moment, before saying

"Now if I went and told you that, I'd be good as dead anyway."

Zelos glared at the man and said

"If you don't tell us, I'll-"

Before Zelos could finish his sentence, I slammed the hilt of my sword against the side of the man's head. He crumpled to the ground unconscious. Zelos glared at me, and demanded

"Why did you do that?"

I pointed the way our would-be-attackers came from. We could retrace their footsteps easily enough. Right now, I wanted answers of a different kind. I turned my attention towards Raine and Genis

"You guys are leaving me in the dark about something, what is it?"

The pair winced, and glanced at the others for help. Zelos spoke up for them, and said

"I was supposed to marry Sheena today, Lloyd."

I stood there for a moment, digesting that bit of information. That would explain a little bit, but what about the strange stares that Genis and Raine keep giving me?

"Lloyd, we can't just stay here, we have to find Sheena!"

Genis insisted before I could ask more questions. I nodded, sighed in defeat, and our group set out, following the oh-so-obvious-foot-print-path. _This is all just a little too easy…_ I thought to myself, feeling a little on edge.

Several hours later, we found ourselves in the middle of no where. The foot prints stopped quite abruptly. It was almost like they sprouted wings and flew away. I shook that idea out of my head. Angels weren't here.

"Lloyd, what do we do now?"

Zelos demanded, looking around, before turning to me and waiting for my reply. I frowned, and said

"It's getting late; we should set up camp a little ways from here, and start over in the morning."

"You shouldn't have let that guy go free."

Zelos was glaring at me now, I sighed, and replied

"He wouldn't have told us a thing, Zelos."

He looked about to reply, but Presea broke in,

"Let's just get some rest."

We did just that.

Regal and Raine had taken first watch. Sometime in the middle of night though, they woke us up, pointing something out urgently in the dark.

"Lloyd, something's over there."

I blinked a couple times, and looked around. Something where?

Raine was busy waking up the others still, so Regal clarified

"Some sort of reihard just flew over there,"

Regal indicated the direction where the foot prints ended with a nod of his head,

"and just disappeared."

My blank stare caused him to continue further.

"We found it, Lloyd, it's just cloaked."

Maybe my brain was just fuzzy still from sleep, but that made no sense. Raine and the others came over, as I asked

"You want to say that in English?"

Regal sighed, and replied

"It's invisible. Had we walked further, I'm sure we would have found something similar to a human ranch."

"What makes you say that?"

Genis asked curiously

"Raine checked it out."  
All eyes turned to Raine.

"The technology used to hide it is all quite marvelous. They used magitechnoloy to-"

"Professor!"

I said, not wanting to hear her rant about it. She sighed, and said

"Imagine a base of some sort, with shield around it, making it invisible. Is that simple enough for you, Lloyd?"

I chose to ignore that last part. She was probably making fun of me, or something.

"Well, let's get going!"

Zelos was already packing up camp while he spoke. As the rest of us moved to help, I heard Raine mutter to herself

"But why would they be so close to Mizuho?"

With camp packed, we followed Raine, who had discovered an entry way into the invisible enemy territory. My jaw dropped as a building, and cement walls suddenly came into view. Genis grinned, and said

"You're gonna catch flies like that."

That earned him a blank stare from me. What was that supposed to mean?

"C'mon guys, before we're spotted."

I said, leading the way to what looked like a back entry. Lucky for us, the guards that had been posted were all fast asleep. It was past midnight, after all, but it still seemed kind of…pathetic.

We went through long winding hallways, fought and defeated some men, unlocked doors, and went deeper and deeper into the core of the base-like-building. Just like old times, when we would sneak into Human Ranches.

Raine hacked into the computer system from a small computer built into a corner, when we found ourselves at a dead end, only the locked door in front of us. With a 'beep', and a flash of some blue lights, the door opened. We entered, and found ourselves in what looked like a dungeon. Well, a small dungeon, it had only a few jail cells. We had barely entered the room when someone's surprised voice asked

"Genis, Raine, what are you guys doing here?"

Turning to where the voice was coming from, I saw a youth in one of the cells. He couldn't have been more than sixteen.Standing close to the bars,he wasstaring at us in surprise as he looked our group over. His eyebrows narrowed suddenly, and he glared past me. Iglanced over my shoulderto see Zelos, wincing, and giving a weak wave in greeting to the boy.

Raine crossed the room, to where a small computer desk was. After a few seconds of fast typing, the cell door opened, and the boy stepped out. He had black uncontrollable hair, tied back in a ponytail at he base of his neck, his eyes were brown, and he wore a blue sleeve-less shirt, with baggy black pants, and red gloves on. The boy's glare turned to me, and changed into curiosity. Something was oddly familiar about him.

"Who're you?"

He asked, shooting another quick glare toward Zelos.

"Lloyd, and you?"

I responded, feeling a little pity for Zelos. If looks could kill, Zelos would be pushing up the daisies.

"I'm Lan."

Raine was suddenly standing beside me, and she asked

"Anything familiar about him, Lloyd?"

Lan gave her a weird look, but didn't say anything. I gave Raine a curious look, she sighed, and said.

"That's Sheena's son."

Was it me, or did everyone suddenly find me very interesting? I don't know why they'd look at me like that. Again with the weird stares.

I always take sooo long to update, don't I? Blah, its summer, so I'm gonna try to update more. Pleaze leave a review!

- I re-updated it to make a change or two :P


	5. Iselia

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness's Rage)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS in any way.

Chapter 5 – Iselia

Lan coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Uh, everyone else from Mizuho are through those doors."

He pointed as he spoke, gesturing towards a door that was by the computers. Rain gave a nod of her head, and started towards the door. Regal, Presea and Genis followed her. I stayed behind with Zelos. Lan walked to the computers, and began rummaging through the desk. With a victorious grunt, the youth returned to where Zelos and I stood, holding several daggers in his hands. I raised an eyebrow as he began clasping them in different areas : one on each upper arm, on each of his shins, hidden by his pants, a larger one attached to his belt, and the remaining two which had small belts around them, went criss-crossing over his chest. With a glare towards Zelos, the boy walked back into his cell, and grabbed what I assumed to be a black jacket. He slipped it on, and his knives were almost completely hidden. Zelos grimaced and muttered something about wishing the boy hadn't retrieved his knives.

"So, uh, Lan, how old are you?"

I asked out of curiosity. I would rather not have a child come along with us to rescue Sheena, even if the child was her son. I saw Zelos flinch out of the corner of my eye, and wondered why.

"I turn sixteen in a couple months."

He replied simply. Now what was it about that age that seemed to make alarms go off in my head?

Raine returned with the others, and said

"We should get out of here before we're caught. I can try looking on their computers to see where they've taken Sheena."

Lan spoke up before she could do so, and said

"Uh, I heard one of the guys say they took mom somewhere south of here."

Raine gave a nod of her head, and replied

"Then we'd best get out of here."

Since we had nearly the entire population of Mizuho with us, that wasn't an easy task. We must've fought several dozen foot soldiers. To my surprise, Lan was actually pretty good with his daggers. He fought with one in each hand, and I made a mental note to see if he was interested in fighting with swords. That way he wouldn't have to get so close to the enemy to do some damage.

I cursed when I heard the alarms go off. We were close enough to the exit, though, so Lan, Zelos, Presea, Rain and I stopped to hold off our attackers, while Genis and Regal helped the villagers escape.

I ran towards the first of the men running toward us, shoved him back into two of his comrades with the hilt of my sword. Lan and Zelos came up on either side of me, weapons read. When the three men got their feet, angrily, we lunged at them, taking them down quickly. We turned to help Presea and Rain, who were being attacked by four other men. Presea took one out with her axe, but got stabbed in the side from behind. Raine was casting first aid spells quickly, and Zelos ran behind Presea to stop other men from attacking her until Raine could heal her. After taking down those four, we turned around and saw half a dozen more running at us. Behind them was another dozen still. Outnumbered, we ran after Regal and Genis, who had already left. Raine turned around and cast a quick photon, to help in our retreat. The photon took out two men, which slowed down their pursuit. We kept running, till they base was out of sight…well, the area the base was in was out of sight, we still couldn't see from the outside.

Two hours later, it had been decided that we would take the people of Mizuho back to Iselia. They needed a place to live, after all, and their homes were completely destroyed. We traveled all through out the night towards Iselia, and finally reached later in the after noon of the next day (we took short breaks to rest during all the walking). Frank suggested that the villagers from Mizuho stay in temple of Martel, just outside of Iselia. Genis and Raine took them there, while Regal, Presea, Zelos, Lan and I all went to my house.

"Lloyd!"

Colette exclaimed when she saw me, she jumped to her feet, and nearly ran to me, except she was intercepted when Mattrim beat her to me, and nearly jumped on me in the process

"Dad!"

He said with a grin as I put him down. Colette walked over and hugged me. Upon noticing the others behind me, she smiled and greeted them, asking if they'd like something to drink. When she saw Lan, she froze, looking like she'd seen a ghost. She glanced at me, and stared back at Lan. The boy shifted nervously, and gave me look that just begged for help

"Colette, need some help getting those drinks?"

I asked, bringing her attention away from the now nervous youth. Colette flushed, and said hurriedly

"Uh, no, I can get them."

She smiled before she rushed to the kitchen. I gestured for everyone towards the living room. I sat down on one of the couches, Presea and Regal sat across from me on another couch, leaving one seat between them. Zelos sat on the rocking chair across from the living room entrance, and Lan sat one see over from me on the couch, and Mattrim sat down beside me, asking if I had fight any 'bad guys'. I smiled at him, and told an un graphic description of what we did. When I finished, Colette came into the room, nearly dropping the tray of drinks when she glanced at the couch I was sitting on. I looked from her to Lan, and frowned. Now _he_ was the one getting weird looks. I looked around the room, and then back at my wife, and said

"Uh, Colette, do you need help with the drinks?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, here."

She placed them the table, a little awkwardly, and asked

"Lloyd, can I talk to you?"

Zelos shot up from his seat, and said

"Can I talk to you first, Colette? I haven't seen you in ages!"

Zelos didn't wait for a reply, but walked speedily from the room, tugging Colette after him by her arm. What the heck was that about?

"So, Lloyd, what have you been up to the last couple years?"

Presea asked before I could question after Zelos.

"I've been training some of the Professors students. With the forests around here, and the monsters that sometimes appear, the Mayor thought it was a good idea."

Regal gave a nod of his head, and Lan suddenly asked

"Uh, Lloyd, why does your wife keep staring at me?"

I turned to him, and Mattrim replied for me

"My mom's not staring at you."

I sighed, and said truthfully

"I have no idea."

I turned to Presea and Regal, and asked

"I could ask the same thing of you guys. Ever since Genis and Raine came over, you guys have been giving me funny looks too. What the hell is that all about?"

Regal coughed, and glanced at Presea. She shrugged, and replied

"We haven't seen you in a long time, Lloyd, and, well, you've changed."

Lan looked over at me and said thoughtfully

"Genis and Raine stared at me really weird when they first came to Mizuho. Wonder why that is."

Regal suddenly looked like he wanted to hit himself, and Presea found a flower pot in the corner very interesting. I frowned at them, opened my mouth to speak, and Zelos and Colette came back in. I stood up and asked

"What did you want to talk about?"

Colette gave a shake of her head, and replied

"Oh, it's nothing."

And promptly left the room. I turned to Zelos, a questioning look on my face, and he shrugged, before sitting down. What weren't they telling me? Whatever it was, Lan seemed to be out of the loop as well.

00000

yay, I updated quicker this time. . Hope you all liked it. I'll try to write another chapter within the next week or so. Well, please review! ciao


	6. Twin Blades

Tales of a Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Chapter 6 – Twin Blades

After a good night's sleep, and consulting a map, we set out to find Sheena again. An entire day of traveling found us camped out at the edge of a small forest, and near a shallow river. Genis and I built a small fire, and Regal started cooking. I cleared a small space of rocks, and set my blanket down. Sitting on it, I surveyed our surroundings. Lan cleared a spot beside me, and laid down the blanket Colette had given him for our journey.

I glanced at Lan once, and started thinking. He was born just over fifteen years ago, and it took me a little while to realize why that bothered me so much. Sheena and I had been together then. I tensed, my eyes widening as I stared at the fire. I shook my head to get rid of that idea. Sheena would have told me if I'd fathered a child. I exhaled slowly, realizing a little startled that I'd been holding my breath. Did she leave me then because she'd found someone else?

I glance at Zelos and frowned. If Zelos was the father, no doubt Lan would know. But Lan always glared at the former Chosen, so Zelos couldn't be his father. Maybe it didn't work out between her and the father, or maybe he died when Lan was just an infant. There were so many possibilities; I didn't know where to start. I glanced at Lan again, and opened my mouth to ask him something, but I couldn't form the words to do it. Lan must've seen my hesitance, because he frowned at me, and asked

"What?"

I blinked at him, and glanced at the dagger's he'd removed, and placed beside him

"Did you ever try fight with swords?"

He shrugged slightly, and replied

"Yeah, but my mom always got too emotional when she saw me holding them. Said it reminded her too much of my father."

So, Lan's father was some sort of sword master.

"I could teach you how to fight with swords better, if you'd like."

Lan looked at me for a moment, then asked

"Why would you want to teach me?"

"Because this is going to be a long journey, and if you're going to survive the entire thing, you can't use daggers. They're too short, and you'll be to close to your enemy. With swords, you'll have a longer range."

For a moment, he looked angry, then a little thoughtful. That sounded like something Kratos would have said. I grimaced at the thought. Kratos only said that stuff to me, because I'm his son, and he didn't want me to get myself killed.

"Sure."

I blinked at Lan, a little confused, before I realized what he was replying to

"We'll get you a sword then, at the next village we pass."

He gave a nod of his head. Regal spoke, telling us that dinner was ready.

The next day, we packed up camp, and continued on our way. Around mid afternoon, we reached a small village, which I had no recollection of ever visiting before. Probably a new village, with people from Tetha'alla and Sylvarant. Raine suggested we stay at an inn that night, so while the others went to find one, and book a room, Lan and I went in search of a weaponry shop.

We found one at the other end of the village. It was small, but had the desired weapon. I told Lan to pick one, and he glanced at a couple of the swords with a frown, before he looked over at me

"How can you teach me one? You fight with two. Wouldn't it be easier for you to teach me, if I trained with two as well?"

The kid had a point, I had to admit. I sighed, and asked the shop keeper if he had any twin blades. A brief trip to the back room, and the elderly man came back out with a pair of dusty old blades. He placed them on the table, after I asked him for sheathes, he returned to the back room, returning with two newer looking sheathes. He placed the swords in them, to make sure they fit, and looked back at me, a little questioning. Lan picked them up, and gave me a nod. I paid for the two swords, and we left to join the others.

When we found the Inn, Zelos was standing in front of it, and waved at us when we were spotted. Zelos froze slightly when he saw the two of us come back, each with two swords hanging from our belts. He stood there, staring at us, looking like he's just seen a ghost. Raising an eyebrow at him, Lan and I continued inside, to join the others

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heh heh, er, that was kind of short, eh? Sorry, but I really wanted to write that part. Got inspired to while listening to some music. Anyways, hope you liked it, and please review!

oooh, I'd also like to thank the people who did review: E.S. Simeon, LJ3, psychobreadfish. Thanks a ton!


	7. Sheena

Tales of a Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Chapter 7 – Sheena

Genis looked around, and gave an irritated sigh. Which kind of sounded like more of a grunt. I raised a questioning eyebrow towards him, and he said

"We've been looking for nearly three days. We've been going south of that other place. When are we going to find it?"

I shrugged a shoulder, and replied

"I have no idea."

Raine spoke up from behind me,

"It's probably that they have another invisible fortress."

Invisible fortress?

"If so, how are we going to find it?"

Now what is it, that whenever you ask a question like that, someone up in heaven decides to answer your question, in the most painful way possible? I walked straight into a wall. Hard. I was certain that the world was spinning, and that I was close to going blind. My vision blurred, and I had to blink a couple times to clear it.

"Eh?"

That was the most intelligent thing I could think of to say.

"Good job, Lloyd, you've found it!"

Zelos said with a big, stupid, grin. I wanted to hit him up side the head. Lan was trying not to laugh, and the urge to bang their heads together was far too tempting.

"We should move, before we're spotted."

Presea broke in. I led the way into the 'invisible fortress', leading the way through winding hallways. It looked almost empty. That alone was slightly alarming. Though, something a little more alarming, was that the fourth (I think it was the fourth) room we entered, had several dozen men, all clad in what almost looked like desian clothing, facing what looked like a stage, where a tall, blonde man, wearing what I thought to be a mage's robe of yellow, light green, and white, was addressing the men in front of him.

We backed out of the room, praying they hadn't noticed us, when the blonde man in front saw us, and glared. One by one, the other men gathered turned toward us. We wasted no time in fleeing the room. Regal and Presea were in front as we raced through the hall. Regal pulled a door open, and we all slipped inside.

Panting, I looked around, my heart pounding a mile a minute. Cursing, I scanned the room, and pointed to a door in the corner. I led the way, and we entered a room deeper into the Invisible Fortress. Raine pushed past me, after spotting a computer. She typed furiously on the controls, and a minute later, straightened, and turned to the rest of us

"Sheena's here. Two doors down from here. It takes a key to open the lock, though."

Lan grinned, and replied

"I can take care of that, Raine. Let's get going."

I frowned at him, and asked

"How will you take care of it?"

He smirked, and replied

"I was born in a ninja village, Orochi taught me to pick locks when I was a child. Said I was restless."

I gave a mute nod, before we carefully exited the room. The place must've been on full alert now, because we fought several men before we even got five feet.

"Lloyd, go get Sheena, we'll hold them off."

Zelos said while using his shield to deflect a blow from one of our attackers. I caught sight of Lan, and motioned him over. The two of us found the door that was supposed to lead to Sheena, and with a backward glance towards the others, entered it.

Sheena was sitting in a cell, muttering to herself.

"Mom!"

Lan called, a grin on his face as he ran to her cell. She jumped a couple feet, startled, and turned to face us. Her eyes were wide as she stared at her son

"How did you get here?"

Lan was busy rummaging through his pockets while he answered her

"Lloyd and the others freed me."

He indicated towards me with a jerk of his chin. He found what he was looking for, and produced a long thin piece of metal, then began working on the lock. I was still standing just inside the room. The door was closed behind me, and I was staring at Sheena with a look of uncertainty. She looked like how I remembered her. Her black hair was pulled back in a wild pony tail, her clothing nearly the same as when we went on the journey of world regeneration, only, her shirt reached her neck, and her kimono styled clothing was blue and purple, instead of purple and pink. Her dark eyes were wide as she stared at me. She glanced from her son to me, then looked away briefly.

Lan successfully opened the lock, and swung the door open. Sheena stepped out, and said carefully

"Hi Lloyd, it's, been a long time."

I gave a tiny nod, and had to force myself to look at the door, before glancing back at her, then at Lan

"We should get going. They know we're here, so we have to get out of here quickly."

Without waiting for a reply, I opened the door, and stepped out, knowing the two would follow quickly.

The floor was littered with bodies of the men Zelos and the others had defeated. We made our way towards them, stepping over bodies while we went. When Genis spotted us, and called

"They're here, let's go!"

Our group broke into a run, as we retraced our steps back to the exit.

We were nearly out, when several men stepped in front of the gate, the blonde man from before stood in front of them. He had changed from the mage robes, to clothes that would be easier to fight with. He wore a light yellow shirt, with the top couple buttons undone, and white pants, with green boots. He had on black gloves, and was resting his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

Zelos cursed, and said

"Lloyd, we're surrounded."

I looked around to see what he meant, and what I assumed to be the rest of invisible fortress's population, was gathered around us.

"Well, I must admit, I'm impressed that you found us."

The blonde man was smiling at us as he continued

"You're Lloyd Irving, aren't you? I've heard quite a bit about your small group."

He looked like he was getting ready to laugh at us.

"And who the heck are you?"

I demanded, stepping in front of my friends

"Oh, I apologize. I was so surprised to see you all here, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Arkus Coupare. If you'll surrender now, we get this over with, without any blood being shed."

Arkus smirked at us, a victorious grin slowly spreading on his face. I glared at him, and opened my mouth to reply, when someone else interrupted

"I don't think so, Arkus. Release them, now."

I stood frozen for a moment. That voice sounded so familiar. But it couldn't be, could it? He had left after we had beaten Yggdrasil.

"Kratos? I'd nearly forgotten about you."

Kratos, my father, was standing just behind the gate and Arkus's men. He had a young man at knife point. Kratos didn't look like he'd aged a day in the last fifteen years. Beside him stood Yuan, and dozens of Renegades stood just behind them. My jaw dropped.

Arkus noticed the youth who had Kratos's dagger at his throat, and his face contorted into anger. His fist clenched his sword tightly, and Kratos smirked

"I think we can come to trade, don't you think?"

There was a long moment of silence, before Arkus began ordering his men to move. Our group slowly began to approach Kratos and Yuan, and we had gotten just past the gate before Kratos released the young man, and pushed him forwards. One of the Renegades stepped forward, nocked an arrow, and pointing it at the young man's back. Just to make sure Arkus didn't try anything, of course.

"Lloyd, all of you, get out of here. Yuan?"

We did as told, and Yuan, along with several Renegades, began leading us away from the 'invisible fortress'. When the other Renegades began to look like spots, Yuan gestured toward a forest on our right.

"There should be some reihards there. Take them, and meet us at our base northeast of here."

Without waiting for our reply, Yuan began shouting orders to his men. With a shrug, I led the way to the forest, and we quickly found the reihards that they had hidden there.

"Uh, Lloyd, there's only six reihards, and eight of us."

Zelos said, looking around at the reihards. It had been so long since the last time I'd seen one. We had given ours back to Yuan after the worlds had be joined.

"So some of us will just have to share. We should get going."

Genis replied, speaking to Zelos as if he was an idiot. I looked around, but before I could speak, Genis was talking again

"Well, Regal and Raine should have their own reihards, since they're the oldest here. I can share with Presea, and since Zelos and Sheena are engaged, they can ride in the same one too."

Zelos and Sheena looked at each other, before Zelos said

"I think Sheena and Lloyd should ride together. They have, er, lots to talk about."

Lan frowned at me, but shrugged. We all boarded our designated reihards, and took off into the sky. Sheena was sitting behind me, holding on tightly to her seat, when she said

"Lloyd, we need to talk. Can you land somewhere, er, a little ways off from where we're supposed to be going?"

I glanced back at her, and replied

"Sure."

Though, I got the sinking suspicion I wasn't going to like what she said.

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O.o well, I'm sorry for leaving it as a cliff hanger, but I won't be able to update it till Saturday night, or Sunday. Hope you liked it! And please review

Special thanks to the people who reviewed – Krannapple, Sieg15, Fan Fan Girl, LJ3, and pyro (if I forgot u, u have my appology)


	8. Epiphany

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka dragoness)

Author note: italics are thoughts, just incase u didn't know

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 8 – Epiphany

I landed the reihard down in a small clearing, close enough to the Renegade base that it was in sight. Waiting for Sheena to climb off before following her. I jumped down, and landed beside her. She stood there for a moment, before turning so she was facing me.

"Lloyd, I'm sorry."

I stared at her quietly, not certain what I should say. I had a feeling I knew what she was talking about, but with women, it was always safer to let them clarify, instead of assuming. So, naturally, I remained silent. She shifted uneasily, and looked away before saying

"You met Lan."

I gave a nod, and again waited for her to continue

"I'm sorry for leaving you like I did. I was, scared, and I just wasn't ready."

"That's what your note said."

I replied cautiously. She glanced at me, and I realized I might have sounded like I was snapping at her. I sighed, and replied

"It's in the past, Sheena."

_But it still hurt_. She stared at me for a long moment, before saying

"But what about Lan?"

I shrugged. She should be talking to Lan's father, not me. I shrugged and replied

"You left me because you were pregnant with him, right?"

She gave a nod in response, and looked a little relieved. Probably thought I'd be angry with her, or something, for cheating on me fifteen years ago.

"So, then will you tell him, or will I?"

She asked, seeming a little more at ease. I blinked at her, and replied

"I don't think he'd want to know. I mean, with you getting married with Zelos and all. Don't you think it would just complicate matters with starting a new family."

She stared at me, and slowly nodded her head.

"I guess you have a point."

She looked a little hurt by this though, and I was slightly confused.

"Well, why don't we go back?"

She looked like she wanted to say more, but then sighed, and smiled

"Sure."

When we reached the others, we found them waiting for us in front of the Renegades' base. A couple Renegades were moving the reihards to what looked like a hanger. Zelos was watching me carefully, and when I noticed, I gave him a blank look. Lan was giving me a strange look, then glanced at Zelos

"Hey, Lloyd, weren't you gonna train me some more after we found my mom?"

Lan sounded like a little child. I grinned, and replied

"Sure. But first, I think we should for Yuan and my dad to get back. I think they have some explaining to do."

_How Kratos got back, for starters. _A Renegade in mostly blue, led us inside, and to what looked like Yuan's office. The one where we first found out that the desians were working for Cruxis. There were chairs set up for us to sit in, and after being seated, everyone got really quiet. I caught the Professor looking from me to Sheena, then to Lan. Genis, I noticed, was doing the same. So were Zelos, Presea, and Regal. What the heck? I blinked at Zelos, when he glanced at me for the third time. Before I could break the silence, Lan did so. He sat to the left of me, with Sheena on his other side. He sat up so fast that his chair nearly fell over.

"If any of you look at me one more time…"

He was fingering one of his daggers, and glaring at the others.

"I have to agree with Lan. It's really beginning to get on my nerves. Why do you guys keep staring anyway? And don't give me that excuse of 'you've changed'. It's more than that, so what's going on?"

I felt close to shouting, and forcibly calmed myself. Must not…shout…at friends. Sheena looked at me a little confused.

"Well,"

Zelos piped in, an annoyingly cheeky grin on his face

"it's just that you and Lan look kind ofa like."

His cheeky grin vanished when the Professor slapped him upside the head. Now I was really confused. Sheena was staring at me now, with a look of 'you idiot' on her face.

"Lloyd, I think we should talk again. I don't think you understood the first time."

I sighed, and shrugged. There was nothing else to do, was there? Getting up, I was about to follow her, when Kratos and Yuan walked in. Look like the talk with Sheena would wait. I sat back down, and watched as they walked to the desk at the opposite end of the room. Kratos glanced around our group, and paused when he saw Lan, who was still siting beside me. My dad blinked a couple times at him, then glanced at me, then back at Lan. I frowned at him. Kratos too, now? I think I was almost ready to go insane.

Maybe it was the way Kratos looked so confused when he saw Lan, or maybe it was the confused looks Sheena kept giving me. It could even have been the coment of 'you and Lanlook kind ofa like'. Perhaps it all just decided to come to me, in one big, giant, epiphany.

I glanced at Lan, then back at Sheena. Maybe she never did cheat on me. Now that I thought of it, Sheena's not the type to do that. Of course, that left only one other option. Which, as I thought about it, would explain so much. So, doing what any swordsman would do after finding out he'd fathered a child he never knew about, I fainted.

The world went black, and the floor hit me. How could I have been so stupid?

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…I know Lloyd's not exactly the fainting type, but…I thought it would be kind of fitting. Hope you like it. I'll write a longer chapter tomorrow. A much longer chapter. It's past midnight, and I wanted to update before going to bed. I've gotta work tomorrow, so I'll try to update after that. Pleaze review!

and thanxs to those who reviewed for the last chapter: Fan Fan Girl, and Hemi - Rose


	9. Explanations

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (a.k.a Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 9 – Explanations

I woke up with a splitting head ache. Felt kind of like some one was taking a large, thick, tree branch, and was repeatedly hitting me in the head. Blinking a few times at the ceiling, I sat up with a wince. Glancing around the room, I realized I was in my bedroom. How'd I get here?

"Lloyd, you awake!"

Colette was sitting beside me so fast that all I saw was a blur of blonde hair.

"Yeah?"

She smiled at me, and said

"Everyone else is downstairs. They said you passed out."

"Passed out? Some master swordsman you are, Lloyd."

Genis was standing in the door way, grinning at me. I glared at him, about to tell him to shut up, when Zelos came up behind Genis, and said

"You ok, buddy? You hit your head pretty hard."

Zelos looked about ready to laugh

"You hit the corner of Yuan's desk when you fell."

Yuan's desk? Thinking about that, I realized I had been standing a little close to it. I reached a hand up and felt the large bump on my forehead.

"Maybe it was just from lack of sleep. He was keeping watch most of the time while we slept."

Lan was standing beside Zelos, voicing his comment in a way that sounded like he was making an excuse for me. I stared at him before nodding my head

"That's must've been it."

Lan was my son. How could I not have seen it before?

"Hey, Lloyd, Kratos is downstairs. Since you're awake, why don't' we all start dinner?"

Colette asked, taking one of my hands in hers, she watched me curiously, before grinning

"Mattrim is down there with your father right now. You should see the two."

She just about giggled. I was a little concerned about that. Not that I was worried about my dad meeting my son, but Matt could be a little too, energetic, sometimes.

"What's for dinner?"

I asked, glancing at the group that now stood in my bedroom doorway. Raine and Presea had joined and I began to wonder where Sheena and Regal were.

"You'll see. Regal's making a little desert that he's putting together right now."

Downstairs, I found Sheena and Regal in the kitchen, arguing about how spicy the curie should be. Colette pulled me by the hand towards the dinning room, where the table had been set up against one wall, and enough chairs for everyone were pulled together in a circle.

"Hey, how'd we get here?"

I asked, blinking at my companions. Raine gave a shrug, and replied

"When you passed out, we thought it would be better if we came back here. We simply put you in a reihard, and flew here. Kratos came along to explain what's going on."

Kratos looked up from where he was sitting, with Mattrim sitting in front of him, and said

"I can explain while we eat."

I gave him a nod, and then asked

"Dad, how'd you get here?"

Kratos gave a tiny smile, and replied simply

"I asked Origin, and he brought me back."

(A/N: grimace I'm hoping that's possible. I was thinking of a way to bring Kratos into the fic, so…I hope that works)

"Dinners ready!"

Sheena called from the kitchen.

Once we were all seated, we ate in silence for a little while, before Kratos finally spoke up.

"Arkus is the human son of the former Pope."

I stopped eating, and stared at him

"Is he the one behind Mizuho's attack?"

Lan demanded, a frown on his face

"Yes. He was also a former informant for Mithos. He kept us informed of what was going on in Meltokio."

Zelos raised an eyebrow

"I thought that was my job."

Sheena elbowed Zelos in the stomach lightly, and whispered something to him. He grinned, and waited for a reply

"Mithos didn't exactly trust humans. Mithos promised him all of Tetha'alla if he did as instructed. He worked with his father to try and stop you. He failed, but believes it's because his father was incompetence. Arkus thinks that Tetha'alla is his by right. He has his father's ambitions, and wants to be king."

"So why did they want the summon spirits?"

Lan asked curiously

"Because Arkus now wants all of Symphonia. He picked up some of the plans for the Mana Cannon, and thinks he can recreate it by using all of the summon spirits. Also, he believes that without the summon spirits, no one will be able to oppose him."

This was all a little hard to digest. I still had a massive head ache. Touching my forehead again, I glanced at my father, and asked

"Who was that guy you traded for our safety?"

Kratos frowned slightly at this point, and gave a shrug of his shoulders

"He's Arkus's son. His name is Arthur."

Well, that explains why Arkus had seemed so angry when he saw the young man at knife point.

"So let me get this straight,"

Raine began, recounting everything Kratos had said

"Arkus wants to rule over Symphonia. He has a son, and thinks that he can take over the world with the Summoning Spirits?"

Put that way, Arkus sounded just a little insane.

"Not exactly."

Kratos said with a shake of his head

"He wants the summoning spirits for their power. With enough power, he thinks can force more people to follow him, and eventually take over Symphonia."

"More people?"

Genis asked, raising an eyebrow. Kratos gave a grave nod, and replied

"He's abducted the elves' Elder's daughter. He's forcing them to work for him. He's also got Mizuho now. He's making all the able-bodied men work for him, by threatening their families."

He glanced a Sheena, as if to say 'Like he tried with you'. I glared at the wall behind Kratos. What kind of –

"Is there anything else?"

Presea asked, looking directly at Kratos as she spoke. He shrugged again, and replied

"That's all the information we have right now. Yuan believes he's working on something, but he doesn't know the details yet."

Great. This started out as a simple journey to save Sheena, and now it looks like we have to save the world. Again.

After dinner, Kratos said he had to return to the Renegades. He left, and the house was strangely quiet. Colette was getting blankets and mats for the living room for Genis, Regal, and Zelos to sleep on. She was setting up the spare bedroom Presea, Sheena, and Raine, because they were the only other women there. With a glance in my direction, Colette suggested that Lan sleep in Mattrim's room. She could borrow a cot from the neighbors, and then all the sleeping arrangements would be solved. Sheena and Zelos said they'd go and ask. I assumed they wanted some 'alone' time. They had to choose a different day for their wedding, after all.

"Lloyd, can I talk with you?"

Colette asked, standing half way up the stairs. I got up from the couch, where I had been talking with Genis and Regal. Well, trying to talk. The two were talking about cooking. I just couldn't understand their fascination.

"Uh, sure."

I walked upstairs with Colette, and she led the way to our bedroom. She sat down on the bed, and looked up at me with a little bit of uncertainty on her face.

"Did you talk with Sheena?"

She asked. Well, we did talk, but not exactly in a very clear way. I gave a shrug, and replied

"Yes."

She nodded slowly, and folded her hands in her lap. She looked down, looking a little sad

"Colette,"

I began as I walked over and sat beside her. I put my arm around her shoulders, and said

"it doesn't change a thing. You and Mattrim are still my family. Sheena and I aren't going to tell him. She's just starting off with Zelos."

Colette gave a weak smile, and replied

"I know, but…"

"Colette,"

I said sternly, staring at her directly

"I love you, you know that, right?"

She smiled, and replied

"Yeah. I love you too."

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(Sheena and Zelos)

After getting the cot for Lan's bed, Sheena and Zelos went onto the front porch, and sat down. They remained silent for a couple minutes, before Sheena said

"Zelos, should I tell Lan?"

Zelos smiled at her, and looked up at the night sky

"Maybe you should let Lloyd figure it out, first."

That wasn't exactly what Sheena had been hoping he'd say. Zelos caught her slight distress, and put one arm around her waist, while saying

"I think maybe Lloyd needs to come to terms with it first. I mean, finding out he's got another son is kind of a big surprise. Let him think about what needs to be done."

Sheena relaxed a little, and replied

"I spoke with Colette, before he woke up. She seemed a little uneasy with Lan and I there."

Zelos shrugged, and replied

"Well, you have to understand it from her point of view. She's with Lloyd now, but you were his first love. That can't be that easily forgotten."

Zelos paused for a moment, wondering if Sheena had any feelings for Lloyd still. Seems the two former chosen have a little bit in common now. Sheena pinched him in the arm, and said

"What's in the past is in the past. We've both started different lives. I think it's good this way. I just don't want Lan to never know who his father is."

"What are you talking about, mom?"

Lan was standing behind the pair, a confused look on his face. Sheena froze, giving Zelos a look pleading for help. Lan frowned at the two, and said

"You were talking about my dad."

Lan accused. Zelos spoke up before Sheena could

"She's just saying that, er, she hopes I can be a good replacement for your real father."

Lan glared at Zelos, and said icily

"Maybe I'd have something to compare you to, if I knew who my father was."

Sheena tensed. They had argued about this many times before. He didn't see why she wouldn't tell him. She was slightly afraid she'd loose her son if he found out. Raine chose that time to walk up behind Lan, ready to lecture the boy

"Lan, you can't just eavesdrop on people like that! Show some respect. How would you like it if we were listening to everything you said to someone when you thought you were alone? I hope you think about what you've done."

Raine looked like she was ready to hit the youth with her staff. He smartly retreated back into the house. Sheena gave a grateful smile to Raine, and glanced at Zelos.

"I think I'm going to go to bed. 'Night, Zelos."

She kissed his cheek, and followed Raine inside. Zelos remained on the porch, staring up at the sky. He stayed there for a while, before sighing, and joining the others inside.

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O.o did you like it? I hope the whole thing about Arkus made some sense. Well, please review!

Thanks to reviewers: Hemi-Rose, Fan Fan Girl, Sieg15, and JKaitz. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it. I was really worried I'd start getting flamers with the whole 'Lloyd fainting' thing. sighs with relief thanks for the reviews, they were great!


	10. The Elder's Daughter

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (a.k.a Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 10 – The Elder's Daughter

I woke up the next morning, and quietly crept out of my bed so that I didn't wake Colette. I stopped above the stairs, and stretched. Looked like everyone was asleep still. I decided to get some coffee, so I made my way towards the kitchen. When I got there, Kratos was sitting on a stool by the counter, a mug of coffee in his hands, and Lan was sitting beside him. The two weren't talking, and I wondered briefly if my father knew that Lan was my son.

"Morning, Lloyd."

Lan said as he got off his chair, taking an empty mug with him.

"Morning."

I replied while trying to stifle a yawn. Kratos glanced at me, then said to Lan

"Might want to get him some more coffee too, Lan. He looks like he needs it."

I grinned at my father, before asking

"When did you get here?"

I sat down in the seat the Lan had sat in only moments ago

"About an hour ago."

Lan placed a mug of coffee in front of me, and then sat down on the counter by the kitchen sink. I sipped from the coffee, then glanced at Lan

"How long have you been up?"

He shrugged, and replied

"Quite a while. I couldn't sleep."

I gave a nod, then turned my attention back to Kratos

"Are you going to come with us?"

Kratos shook his head, and replied

"No. I just thought I'd tell you where the Elder's daughter is being held. Yuan has an informant among Arkus's men. If you find the girl, we'll see if we can do anything about the people of Mizuho."

The plan made a little sense, I think. If the Elder's Daughter is found, nothing will be forcing the elves to cooperate with Arkus. Same with the people of Mizuho.

"Can I ask you guys a question?"

Lan asked, staring at Kratos and I with a look of uncertainty

"Sure."

I replied, wondering what the youth would be interested in knowing. Perhaps it had to do with training, or something like that

"You guys have known my mom a long time, right? Would you know who my father is?"

I nearly choked on my coffee. Of all the questions he could have asked that early in the morning, why'd it have to be that? Luckily, Kratos saved me from lying. Though, he glanced at me before speaking. Crap, he does know, doesn't he?

"That's not something that we have the right to tell you."

Then, with a tiny, barley traceable grin, my father continued

"Besides, maybe you'll meet your father, and he'll tell you himself."

I had the sudden urge to hit Kratos over the head with one Dirks large hammers. The former member of Cruixs had a twisted sense of humor. Lan snorted, and replied

"Yeah right. Every time I ask my mom, she freezes up, or leaves the room."

He sounded a little depressed after that, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. The boy knew his father was alive, but didn't know who or where. Kratos changed the subject, and said to me

"Lloyd, about the Elder's daughter."

I switched my attention back to my father, and waited for him to continue

"She's heavily guarded, in the Meltokio prison."

Meltokio? What?

"Why's she there?"

I asked, a little dumfounded

"Because Arkus has nearly taken over that city already. He's somehow convinced the King to name him the heir. He can do what ever he likes there."

Well, at least it wasn't another invisible fortress type of thing. Kratos got up to leave, after downing the rest of his coffee. He stopped in the kitchen door way, and glanced back at me in an after thought

"Be a little careful around her, Lloyd. She's…different."

I said goodbye as he left, then turned back to Lan. He was still sitting on the counter, sipping his coffee

"Wonder what he meant by that."

He said thoughtfully, he shrugged it off, and said

"That guy's your father, right? He doesn't look like it."

I shrugged, and replied

"Well, he kind of stopped aging."

Lan raised an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged again

"How can you people be up this early?"

Zelos croaked from the doorway. He staggered into the kitchen, and sat down where Kratos had been sitting only moments before.

"If you're still tired, why'd you bother getting out of bed?"

Lan growled, glaring at the red haired former chosen. Zelos grimaced at the youth, and replied

"Because I couldn't get back to sleep. Is there any coffee?"

"Right over there."

I said, pointing to the pot of coffee on the other side of the sink from where Lan was sitting. With a groan, Zelos got up, and moved sluggishly towards the coffee

About an hour later, everyone was finally out of bed, and ready for going to Meltokio; I had told them what my father had said. It wouldn't take us that long with the Reihards, so we wait till the afternoon to finally go. We figured it would be a little easier to sneak into the palace at night. While we got ready to leave, I asked Colette to take Mattrim and go to Dirks house. Since Arkus seemed to know who we were, it was only a matter of time before he found out about Colette and Mattrim. I really didn't want the two to be alone if he decided to attack them. Colette agreed, so we dropped her and my youngest son off before heading to Meltokio

We landed our reihards in a forest near the large city, and walked on foot to the Meltokio front gate. We first went to a shop to stock up on supplies, and then headed towards the palace. Our plan was a little simple. Genis, Presea, and Regal would cause a distraction by the Arena, by attacking some of the guards there. The rest of us would wait till more guards were sent there before infiltrating the Palace. It was easy enough of first, until we reached the actual prison (A/N: sorry if I seem like I'm rushing things a little :P)

Sitting around a table, sat more than a dozen guards. We had to somehow get past them without causing any commotion.

('elder's daughter's POV)

Stupid cell. Stupid cell door. Grrr, whatever happened to the whole 'humans are simple minded' thing? Had they not created a barrier around my stupid cell, I'd have used magic to get out of here already. What idiots. Did they really think they could keep me here for long? Seriously, my fathers the leader of all the elves, what did they think they'd accomplish? Sure, there plan seemed to work right now, but soon, some of the elves from home would come and save me. I just know it.

So, besides being kind of hungry, just a little thirsty, and really, really pissed off, I was doing okay. I mean, it's not like they were torturing me or anything. Though, I could have sworn that the whole silence treatment thing was some sort of vain attempt to drive me insane. But I'm okay. Just really, really mad. Mad angry, not insane. I think.

I turned my attention back to the stupid humans that were supposed to be guarding me. I watched in a bit of shock, as several of the men were suddenly surrounded, in what I thought must've been a photon. Four humans jumped down the stairs, and began slashing away with swords at the lazy guards, who I had begun to think were just a little drunk. Looking harder at the four, I realized that one was a woman, who was wielding some sort of paper…things…as a weapon. What was she going to do? Paper cut them to death? The other three were guys, and each of them were using swords. Well, one of them was using two, and another had put his swords away, in exchange for daggers. I looked up the stairs to see a woman with silver hair walking towards the four already at the bottom. She was a half elf, I could sense it instantly. She was carrying a staff, and said to her four companions

"We'd better get out of here before reinforcements come."

One of the men nodded, and sheathed his two swords. He looked down the unconscious, or dead men lying all over the floor, and found the one that had the key ring. I watched as they made their way to my cell. I looked around. The other cells were all empty.

"Hey, who the heck are you?"

I demanded, glaring at them while the opened my cell's door.

"There's no time for that. We've got to get out of here, now!"

The woman with paper…things…said urgently. The man who had opened the door reached in and grabbed my arm, dragging my from the cell. Well, not that I was going to complain, I mean, they were…er, uh, freeing me, right? I guess I'll just go along with it for now, and ask questions later. Anything was better than getting out of that cell. I could feel my magic the second I was pulled out of the prison cell, and sighed with relief. It felt like I had lost a limb, and had somehow miraculously gotten it back. Bad analogy, but it worked for me.

I followed the group as we all fled the castle. When we reached the city gates, two other men, and a woman were waiting. They joined us, and I fell to the back of the group and followed them as they ran for a near by forest. I scowled at their backs. What kind of a rescue was this? They free me, then make my run so fast that my hearts nearly breaking free of my rib cage. I stopped, and watched as the group continued running. The pink hair woman noticed I had stopped, and called for her group to slow down, she grabbed my arm, and proceeded to pull me along with them again. Goodness, these people were pushy.

I was finally allowed to rest when we reached these weird flying machine things. I'd never seen them before, but they looked kind of cool.

"Hey, I'm Lan, what's you name?"

The youngest person in their group, which I realized was probably around my age, asked with a curiosity that I must admit I felt as well. Standing up to about his nose, Lan loomed over me a little. My dark red hair was contrasted by the green clothing I was wearing, but fortunately, at least, matched my green eyes. It occurred to me then, that if someone had taken a picture of me standing beside this Lan-fellow, the colors would have all been a little strange.

"I'm Siena. Who the hell are those other people?"

I demanded in response. He looked a little thrown off, and replied

"Well, that's…"

He began telling me all of his companion's names, while they got their flying machines ready. The woman who he said was his mother, Sheena, came up to us, and said to Lan

"Lan, can you take her with you on your reihard?"

Everyone seemed a little anxious. It wasn't exactly a no-brainer as to why. I could hear Meltokio soldiers thundering their way through the forest. Probably after us. Or, particularly, me. I rolled my eyes, thinking how stupid humans could be sometimes, when Lan grabbed my wrist, and looked about ready to throw me into a flying machine that was mostly white, with streaks of blue and black going along the sides. I grinned, good choice in colors. I shrugged him off, and climbed up myself. He scrambled in after me, and moved in front to the controls. He pressed a couple buttons, and off we went. Soaring, quite fast, through the air. I nearly fell of the thing, and had to quickly hunch down in the seat so that I didn't fall off. I cursed loudly at Lan, but I doubt he heard me. Stupid air making it to freaking hard to freaking hear. I mentally shook my fist at just about anything in general. Whatever my fist shaking was for, which I felt the wind deserving most, was defiantly deserving of it. Stupid, grr.

00000

well, what'd you think? Thought I'd try from a different POV. Hope you all liked it. . please review!

thanks to those who did review: Hemi- Rose, and Fan Fan Girl

thanks a ton for reviewing!


	11. Stupid

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 11 – Stupid

We went straight to the Renegade base, where a couple Renegades allowed us inside. They led us to empty bed rooms to rest for the remainder of the night. Siena, the Elder's only child, kept quiet most of the time, until we all sat down in one of the bedrooms, waiting for the dinner that one of the Renegades promised to bring.

"Stupid humans. Stupid half elves. Stupid room. Stupid rescue. I want to go freaking home!"

She had her back to us as she ranted, and Lan spoke up, with an annoyed look on his face

"Just who are you calling stupid?"

She spun around, glaring at him

"Don't read my mind!"

He blinked at her in confusion, before she stalked up to him, and said

"Out of my head you stupid human!"

Lan glared at her, and replied

"I'm not reading you mind!"

"Then how did you know what I was thinking?"

She shouted back. A couple of us looked at each other. Maybe Kratos was right when he said to be careful around her.

"You were talking out loud"

Lan replied with a grin. She stood there for a moment, looking dumbfounded. I sighed, and turned to the rest of our group

"What do we do now?"

"I would assume that we should wait for Kratos and Yuan to return. They seem to know more about the situation than we do."

Raine replied, shooting a glance towards Lan and Siena. I followed her gaze, and my jaw dropped. They were acting like a couple of infantiles. Currently, they were wrestling around on the ground, and I think Siena was trying to strangle Lan. Sheena and I both shot to our feet to separate the two youths. I grabbed Lan and pulled him away, while Sheena grabbed onto Siena, forcefully pulling the elf away. Presea had to help her, because she nearly used magic to set Sheena on fire.

"Would the two of you just calm down?"

I demanded, glaring at my son and the young elf. Siena glared at me defiantly, and nearly elbowed Presea in the stomach.

"She started it!"

Lan growled, shooting daggers at her with his eyes.

"I started it? Great maturity level pal!"

Siena snapped back.

"What do you have against humans anyway?"

Lan demanded, he reached for one of his daggers, and I quickly took it from his hand.

"Nothing!"

She shouted in reply

"Then what's you problem?"

She clenched and unclenched her fists, before biting her hand, hard. She release her hand after a moment, looking suddenly quite calm

"I do not have a problem with anything."

She replied casually.

"Then what the heck was that all about?"

Lan asked with a sigh. He relaxed slightly, so I released his arm. Siena was like wise released.

"When do I get to go home?"

She asked instead of answering his question. He sighed in defeat, and looked at me for an answer

"Well, that's why we've got to wait for Yuan and my dad to get here. We don't even know if it's safe for you to return yet."

I replied. Siena didn't look to pleased with this answer, and demanded

"Weren't we supposed to get some food? I'm starving!"

She sat down with a thud, on the ground, not even bothering to sit in one of the chairs. Lan gave her a funny look, grunted, and joined the rest of our group. Talk about mood swings. That girl seemed to be full of them.

After eating, we separated into different rooms. Each of the bedrooms had two beds each, so we split up into almost even groups. Between the five of us guys, we split three rooms. Regal got his own because he claimed he deserved it since he was older. With one of those annoying grins, Zelos suggested that Lan and I share a room, which left him and Genis. The girls split up into two rooms. Siena and Sheena, then Presea and Raine.

(Siena's POV)

Why on earth did I have to get stuck with these weirdo's? Grr. I got out of bed, and walked out of the room that I was sharing with Sheena. I looked down at my left hand, and sighed quietly. Bite marks laced the skin between my thumb and index finger. I suppose I was a little at fault for the whole argument with that Lan guy. Not like I'd admit that to a guy, though. Stupid males. Stupid humans. Stupid…grrr.

I stalked down that hall way, and wondered around aimlessly. I didn't want to be here. Maybe I should just leave. These people wouldn't care. So, first I had to find the exit. Stupid corridors had to be so freaking difficult. They did this to make me miserable, I just know it. What ever happened to having some sort of map on the wall, that would say, 'you are here' and then point with a little red arrow towards the exit? That would make life sooooo much easier.

"Hey, are going to walk around all night?"

I spun around to see Lan standing several feet from me. That jerk, how long had he been following me?

"No."

I growled in reply. Why should I talk to him? Stupid male human.

"Well, I think you've past this hall at least three times."

"Well, if you think you know your way around here so much better than me, why don't you show me how to get out?"

He raised an eyebrow, and shrugged

"It's as simple as retracing your steps."

He replied, walking ahead of me. I followed him, and got a little annoyed when I realized that I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Why should I, the daughter of the leader of all elves follow a human?

He led me outside, but stopped and moved to lean against the wall. He slid down into a sitting position, and looked up at the sky. I followed his gaze. The stars really were beautiful. I decided not to leave like planned, and sat down beside him

"Couldn't sleep?"

I asked, trying to be civil.

"Not a wink."

He replied with a shrug. His tone told me something was wrong, but why should I care what a sort of inner conflicts a human was having? I glared at the side of his head. I'll call it sheer pity that even asked what was wrong. Again he shrugged, so I scowled at him

"So you you're just going to sit here all night, staring at the stars? What kind of guy are you? Don't guys usual hunt, or fight something, or go camping when they're stressed?"

"And don't most girls say thank you when they're rescued?"

I was very close to slapping that smart mouthed human. Stupid guy, why was I even talking to him in the first place.

"Why are you so angry?"

He asked, turning his head slightly so that he was looking at me. I frowned

"I'm not angry. An elf never gets angry. We just get really serious to point of violence."

I replied. Well, that's not exactly true, but my father always said that, that was what my anger always seemed like. I scowled when I thought of my father.

"You sure do look angry."

Lan said, interrupting my train of thought.

"Well that's my business, then."

We sat in silence for a moment, before he said

"So, what's wrong with you, then?"

He asked curiously. I wasn't sure if it was some sort of male concern, or just an insult. I frowned at him, and replied

"Nothing."

We sat in silence again, but I hated silence. It always gave you too much time to think. Or dwell. Dwelling on things only made them worse.

"So, I'm guessing if neither of us is going to talk, we should probably get inside."

Lan was about to stand up, when I suddenly blurted

"It's my father."

He looked over at me, tilting his head in a confused way.

"I'm angry because of my father."

I gave a silent nod, and asked

"How come?"

"Cause I was born a girl, and he wanted a son. He's ashamed of me. Calls me a lunatic."

Well, maybe calling me a lunatic was close to the truth. I did have my moments…

"At least you know who your father is."

He replied sadly, looking at the ground.

"You don't know yours?"

He shook his head.

"Nope."

Well, maybe he was lucky that way. Fathers could be so…stupid sometimes. I mentally shook my fist at all fathers.

"Maybe that's a good thing. What if he was some sort of looser? Or jerk? Maybe something so completely bad, that's it better you don't even know him."

I answered while thinking of my own father. I would have been happy to never have known him.

"How would I know what he's like, if I never meet him?"

I turned my full attention towards Lan, but paused. Now that I thought about it, didn't Lan look a lot like that Lloyd guy? I mean, if Lloyd was younger, with black hair, they'd be almost identical.

"Say, are you related to Lloyd?"

I asked curiously. He frowned at me, and replied

"No. He's just some old friend of my mom's."

Hmm, an old friend of his mom's, eh?

"So you looking like him, is a complete coincidence? How long has he known your mother?"

I had the sudden urge to laugh. Humans could be so incredibly stupid sometime. I began hitting my head against the wall, while waiting for his reply

"I don't look like him."

He denied. He paused for a moment, and could see the gears rolling around in his head. Maybe he had sort of brain after all. Oww…my head hurts. Crud, got to stop banging wall. I rubbed the back of my head, and said

"Well, maybe it is just a coincidence. You should ask him sometime."

He was silent, his brows furrowed. Still thinking. Maybe he didn't have a brain after all. I mean, why was it taking so long to think of what I'd said. The door beside us opened, and three of those Renegade guys ran out. I followed them with my eyes, and watched as two of those flying machines landed. Two men jumped to the ground. One had blue hair, and the other had an auburn colored hair. They were talking in what looked like an urgent manner to the three Renegades.

"Lan, who're they?"

I asked curiously. Lan looked up, and frowned

"That's Kratos and Yuan."

He replied, while getting to his feet. I stood up as well, and we watched as the three men ran back to us, while Kratos and Yuan left again on their flying machines. Mental note: find out what flying things are called. The three men ran up to us, and one of them said in a worried voice.

"Wake up the rest of your group. Something just happened, that could quite possibly ruin us."

I looked at Lan, wondering what that guy could possibly be talking about

"What happened?"

Lan asked, frowning slightly

"Meltokio's King just died. His daughter's missing, and Arkus, his appointed heir, is about to be named King."

From Lan's shocked reaction, and the grim tone of the Renegades. That didn't sound good at all.

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sooo…what'd you think? I know I left it at a bit of cliff hanger, but it's kind of late, and I wanted to go to bed. I think I'll be switching from Lloyd's POV to Siena's POV from now on. Or, at least, for a couple chapters. Hope no one has a problem with that. O.o anwyays, please review!

thanks to those who did review: Fan Fan Girl, LJ3, and Hemi-Rose

thanks for the reviews, they're always so encouraging .


	12. Elder

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 12 – Elder

I couldn't believe my ears. The King of Tethe'alla was dead? The left Arkus in his place. That definitely did make matters worse. Tethe'alla's army was by far superior to the army of Sylvarant. With the combined forces of Tethe'alla, Mizuho, and the Elves (we still had to contact them somehow to tell them that we'd saved Siena) it was only a matter of time before Sylvarant was taken over. Maybe the summoning spirits were the only way to defeat them. I mean, the only that could stop an army that large would be the mana canon, right? But, did we really want to kill all those people? There had to be a different way around this, without any bloodshed.

"Uh, hey, Lloyd?"

Lan asked, looking a little uncertain.

"What?"

I asked a little uneasily. He couldn't possibly know about…

"That Arkus guy has a son, right? If he was willing to bargain for him once, wouldn't he do it again?"

That might just work.

"We should find where the Princess is, too. I doubt the king died a natural way."

Sheena said with a frown.

"If we could find out for sure how the King died, maybe we could have Arkus accused of treason."

Raine spoke up, looking a little thoughtful. This all sounded good and all, but how the heck would we go about doing any of this?

"We should start with finding Arkus's son. If anything, we might be able to delay any attack on Sylvarant."

That was quite true.

"What are Yuan and Kratos up to?"

Zelos asked curiously. He turned his gaze towards the three Renegades who were currently in the room with us.

"They're trying to find the Princess's location. Lord Yuan believes that she has gone into hiding."

That would make sense. If some bastard cousin took over the thrown, it probably wouldn't be at all safe for the legitimate first born of a deceased King to stick around.

"So, where would Arkus's son be?"

"Maybe we should try that invisible fortress where we found Sheena. Or maybe the Meltokio Palace itself."

Oi, crud, crap. So, which place to search first? We just came from Meltokio, so they might be on the look out for us, or something. The Invisible Fortress sounded a little safer, but the security there might have been increased since we saved Sheena. So, what should we do?"

"You know, I'm not quite sure what the hell is going on here, but if my father's working with this Arkus guy, maybe he'd know where the guy's son is."

Siena sounded half annoyed, and half bored. That made a little sense, I guess. Plus, we could kill two birds with one stone, and inform her father that she was safe, and that he didn't have to work with Arkus.

"Then I guess we'll work with that."

I replied, looking around at my group. I received a few nods, before Regal said

"Now we just need to find out where the Elder is."

Siena frowned, and replied

"I think he's in Sybak."

Lan glanced at her, and asked

"Why would you think that?"

She shrugged.

"Humans are stupid. Those idiot guards talked about it right in front of me. They said something about my father going to Sybak, while the other elves went on some mission thing."

Sheena frowned

"That must've been when they attacked Mizuho."

I blinked at her a few times. Now that she mentioned it, Genis and Raine had mentioned something about Elves attacking the village.

"Then there could be a chance that he's still there, right?"

Genis asked, frowning at what I thought must've been a memory of Mizuho.

"Then that's settled, we'll go to Sybak."

A few hours later, we were nearly at the appointed town. We landed our Reihards at a nearby forest, and headed toward Sybak. I glanced at the forest. I never realized just how much Symphonia was covered in forests. Good thing for us, I guess.

"So, how do we go about looking for him?"

I asked our group once we entered the town. Siena looked at me like I was an idiot.

"I can sense his mana, you know."

She glanced at Raine and Genis

"Can't you guys sense it too?"

She didn't give either half elves a chance to reply, because she was already stalking down the street.

"She's a little cranky, isn't she?"

I asked out loud to no one in particular. Lan glared at me, and replied

"It's only because we're meeting her father. She doesn't exactly like the guy."

I found myself blinking at my son in confusion. He glared at me again before following the elf. What the heck has gotten into him? For the second time that day, I was wondering whether or not Lan had somehow found out I was his father. He seemed a little angry with me just then.

"Lloyd, I think you should probably tell him soon."

Zelos said while shooting a glance towards Lan. I sighed, and replied

"Alright, I'll do it. Just, not now."

I followed the two youths before any of the other adults could reply. Siena and Lan had stopped in front of an Inn. Well, I guess that made logical sense. It's not like the Elder was staying here permanently. Our group walked in, and we followed Siena upstairs. Presea stopped to talk to the Inn keeper, explaining that we were just looking for someone. Without knocking, Siena entered one of the rooms quietly. The rest of us followed to find the Elder sitting in a chair by a window. He was staring at his daughter, with a frown, while also somehow managing to look a little surprised.

(Siena's POV)

I glared at my father before looking down at the ground. No doubt he'd find something else to be ashamed in me for, since I was rescued by humans. Stupid, stupid humans. Lan was standing beside me, and without looking, I could see him glancing from my father to me. The room was silent for a long time, before Lloyd finally broke the silence.

"Hi. Remember us?"

I was nearly shaking with fury. That idiot. What was he sounding so cheerful about?

"Yes, I do."

My father answered calmly. Of course, I wouldn't expect otherwise from him. 'A true elf never looses their composure'. This was a lesson I was obviously sorely lacking.

"Well, we just wanted you to know, that your daughters safe and sound, and that you don't have to work with Arkus anymore."

Lloyd sounded a little easy, as if he could tense the tension between my father and I. Stupid human, like he could sense anything.

"I can see that, and I thank you."

I frowned at my father. Like he really cared. He only pretended too. That's just the way he was.

"We were wondering, would you happen to know where Arkus's son is staying? We're trying to find him."

My father frowned at Lloyd, and replied

"He's in Meltokio with his father. After Arkus is proclaimed King, Arthur will soon be named his heir."

The stupidity of humans truly ran deep. How could they not have thought of that? Lloyd cursed slightly. Well, it would be kind of difficult to get to the guy now, of course. He'd have about a dozen bodyguards.

"This just makes life difficult, doesn't it?"

Zelos asked cheerfully. I wanted to light the guy on fire. Real fire. What kind of a moron could sound cheerful about something like that? Stupid human.

"Well,"

Lloyd began again, after a moment of awkward silence.

"we'll just be leaving now, then."

They turned to leave, so I moved to follow

"Siena."

My father said sternly. What kind of a lecture would I get from him today? I just don't freaking care. I stopped, though, and waited for him to say something. Lan and Sheena saw me stop, and they paused just outside the doorway, waiting.

"You can not go with them."

Like he had any right to tell me what to do.

"I'll do what I like."

I snapped.

"Siena, I'm father. You must do as I say. You are to return home immediately. Where they're going is far too dangerous for a girl like you."

Girl like me? What the hell was that supposed to mean

"I'm not going home. I am going with them."

I replied. Maybe it's just that I hated him so much, that disobeying him seemed to make me feel a little better.

"You will not."

He stood up from where he was, and began walking towards me. I really didn't feel like a big fight with my father right now. I stepped out of the room, and slammed the door. In his face, of course, before running down the hall, past the others, and out of the Inn. I just wanted to be alone right now.

(Lloyd's POV)

Siena ran past us, running out of the Inn

"Siena!"

Lan called, about to follow her. I grabbed his arm as he passed, and asked

"What just happened?"

He glared at me, and said

"Nothing, but somebody's got to go with her."

I frowned, and replied

"Then I'll go. I'll meet the rest of you back at the Renegade's base."

He looked about to argue, before his mother grabbed his other arm, and said

"Listen to him, Lan. Let him talk to her."

Lan stared at me for a moment, before giving a small nod. I left the group, and began searching for her in the town. It wasn't an easy search either. I finally found her outside just outside of Sybak, sitting under a tree.

"Hey."

I said while walking towards her. She glared at me, before folding her arms across her chest.

"What do you want?"

She demanded coldly. Lan had said she didn't like her father before we had found the Elvin Elder. I chose to stay quiet, remembering what it had been like when I had been angry with own father.

"Why are you here?"

She asked finally. She didn't seem so angry anymore, and was currently staring at the grass.

"Just waiting till you're ready to go back."

She looked up at me for a moment, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

"Back with the others."

I clarified. Maybe she thought I meant back to her father. She grinned slightly, before saying

"So I'm allowed to come with you guys?"

"Yeah."

I replied. As I thought about her slightly crazy mood swings, I had doubts that this was a good idea.

"Then I'm ready."

She stood up, surveying the area. I stood up as well, and was about to turn towards the forest where my reihard was pointed, when she said

"You know, he's sad. He's going to start to hate you soon, if he finds out himself."

She was talking about Lan. I knew it instantly. Why was everyone getting so…well, I'd tell him on my own, when I felt like it.

"I don't think he's been sleeping well. Not knowing who his father is, is really beginning to upset him."

She sounded suddenly angry, as if it was all my fault. I didn't even know he was my son until a couple days ago. I was about to tell her that when I told him would be my choice, when she suddenly smirked

"If you don't tell him when we get back, I'll do it myself."

My jaw dropped. She was pure evil.

"I'll be nice, though, and give you a full twenty-four hours. Then I'll just tell him myself."

She gave me a stern look, before marching off towards my reihard. I glared at her back as I followed. Evil? She was evil incarnate, that's what she was.

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O.o this chapter didn't really get anywhere, did it? Sorry. I wanted to update this before the weekend. I'm kind of making the elf leader guy into a bit of a jerk. Well, I don't think I'll be able to update this until Monday. I've got to work the next couple days, and I've got the night shifts, so when I'm not working, I'll be sleeping. Any who, please leave a review!

Thanks to those who did review: Hemi-Rose, Luigi III, Yukashi Tenshi, LJ3, and Fan Fan Girl.

thanks for the reviews. :)


	13. I'm your father

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 13 – I'm your father

After Siena and I had arrived back at the Renegades base, I thought I'd tell Lan I was his father before I lost my nerve. Like some sort of idiot, I suggested we go train. When I was about to tell him, I realized he was not only holding two swords, but still had his daggers on. I didn't exactly want to be filled with small blade-caused wounds. He'd either be happy to find out I was his father, or he'd be quite angry. So, I chose to tell him later that night.

Our group had been gathered in Regal's room. We were discussing random things. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do, so we had decided to wait for Yuan and Kratos to get back. No one spoke about the Elder, which seemed to suit Siena just fine. It wasn't till Lan said that he was going to bed, that I stood up, and asked him, nervously, if I could speak with him. He looked a little puzzled, but shrugged with a nod of his head. I followed him to the door, and glanced back at the rest of our group. They were all giving a thumbs up. Did they think that was encouraging? I glared at them, and then followed Lan.

"So…"

I began a little nervously. Just how was I supposed to go about doing this?

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier like I did."

Lan said, sparing me a glance. I gave a shrug in reply

"No problem."

I replied. Crap, I could fight monsters no problem, had no difficulty putting my life in danger, but when it came to telling my first born I was his father, I was a complete and total coward. I cursed inwardly, and tried again

"So, uh, about your father…"

I trailed off when he stopped and turned to stare at me. He frowned slightly, and replied

"I thought you didn't know who he was."

Lan said, sounding slightly annoyed. I winced, and replied

"Actually, I never said that. My father did."

I waited for him to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he continued walking towards his room, which was actually only a few steps away. He opened the door, and glanced back at me, frowning

"Are you going to tell me who he is, or keep it a secret from me like the rest of them?"

He demanded coldly. Siena was right. If I didn't tell him soon, he probably would end up hating me. I gulped, and shifted my feet a little nervously.

"Well, uh, I could tell you…"

He waited silently. I forced myself to gather my courage to tell him. No wonder Kratos never told me, this was harder than it sounded.

"Uh, as you know, I've known you mother for quite some time. We go way back, so it's uh, only natural that I know who your father is."

I felt like such a chicken, I wanted to kick myself. _Tell him already_! I growled inwardly.

"And?"

Lan asked, looking a little confussed, and a little annoyed. Ok self, just blurt it out. That's got to be the easier way, right?

"Lan,"

I said, taking a deep breath

"I'm your father."

There, I said it. Lan blinked at me a couple times, staring at me as if I'd just hit him. He turned around, opened his door, stepped in, and calmly closed it behind him. Well, that wasn't such a bad reaction, right? Moments later, I could hear him scream some inaudible words angrily, followed by smashing sounds of objects being thrown around in his room. I winced, wondering if I should go in and try to talk to him. I paused, looking down the hall towards Regal's room. The rest of our group was standing in the door way, staring at me. Siena rolled her eyes, and Sheena broke away from the others, and jogged down the hall towards me.

"I'll talk to him."

She said as she stepped into his room. The door muffled what ever the two were saying, and then objects being thrown could be heard again. Sheena came running out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Maybe he just needs to be alone for a bit."

She said, laughing nervously as she stepped away from the door. I stood there quietly. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't known. Or at the very least, it probably would have been better if I'd told him after Arkus was taken care of. This was just complicating things. I turned around, and walked away. Fresh air sounded really good just then, so I headed towards the nearest exit, and stepped outside. I really wished I could be home with Colette and Mattrim right now, I was beginning to miss my family. Things here were just getting complicated.

(Siena's POV)

Everyone was walking back towards their rooms, while Lloyd left. What kind of an idiot was he? If ever there could be a more pathetic man, I think I'd cry. What did he think Lan would do? You don't just blurt something like that, you have to ease it into the conversation. For all Lan knew right now, Lloyd could've abandoned Sheena when he found out she was pregnant with him. I didn't know the entire story, but Lloyd didn't seem like the type of guy who would do that, and seeing as how Sheena was still talking to him, that couldn't have been it. So, I obviously had to be the voice of reason, right now. What on earth would humans do without us elves? Bah, they'd be wondering how another war broke out.

I strolled up to Lan's door, stepping inside while Sheena tried to stop me. Seeing her wince slightly when I closed the door, I rolled my eyes. He couldn't very well do anything to me, I was an elf. If he tried to throw something at me, I'd just incinerate it with some fire.

"What the hell do you want?"

Lan growled, glaring daggers at me. I grinned. Glarring daggers was so ironic. His actual daggers were currently laying beside him, and when I didn't reply, he turned and began cleaning the blades. I wondered briefly what happened to his swords, but that was answered quickly enough when I saw the said blades stuck in a wall by the door. I frowned at him. He hadn't thrown those at his mother, did he? Idiot, jerk, moron. I turned and grabbed the twin blades from the wall, and stalked up to him

"You wanted to know, didn't you? If you were going to react like this, why'd you want to know if the first place?"

He turned around to glare at me, opening his mouth to shout out some angry words in reply, but I lifted both of his swords to his throat. I'd have my say, whether he liked it or not. Humans needed to have some sense knocked into them once and a while.

"You didn't even give him a chance you explain anything. What are you getting so angry about? You even chased you mother out of here. Just who the hell do you think you are? You wanted something, and you got it. So what if he turned out to be one of the guys in this group. You should be so lucky as to have a father like him!"

I was angry at him, I realized. I had such a crappy relationship with my own father, that when I think of Lan with a father like Lloyd, who obviously must care about him at least a little, and Lan gets all childish about it, it just really pissed me off. I threw the swords to the side, fully intent on continuing my lecture, when he stood up, glaring at me, and said

"Just because you don't get along with your father, doesn't mean you have to fix other peoples problems!"

I stared at him for a moment, whatever I'd been about to say was completely lost. So what if I thought he should give Lloyd a chance. He didn't want to be in some hateful father and son situation. So, I slapped him. He deserved it.

"I almost pitty him for having a son like you. You're nothing more than sniveling child, who's upset because you didn't get the happy ending you wanted!"

He raised a hand, lightly touching his cheek where I'd slapped him. If he wanted to argue about this, he chose the wrong elf to have a verbal bout with. Lan looked away from me for a moment, before saying

"He already has a family."

He looked down, avoiding eye contact. Is that was this was all about?

"What do you mean?"

I asked, wondering what he meant. I hadn't been the group that long, but…

"Back in Iselia, he's got a wife and kid. Where would my mom and I fit in?"

His shoulder's slouched slightly, and he sunk back into a sitting position on his bed. I sighed slightly. Humans were so emotionally fragile, it was kind of sad. But who was I to talk? The other elves all considered me insane.

"If he didn't want you to be part of his family, he wouldn't have told you."

I said, trying to make him feel better. Not that I cared, he was just a human, after all. It's just that, uh, well, whining humans got on my nerves. That's it, they got on my nerves.

"Yeah right."

I stared at him for a moment. Had he have seen Lloyd's facial expression when he'd slammed the door, he wouldn't be feeling this way. He'd hurt his father, doing what he did. I felt the sudden urge to slap him again, but restrained myself.

"Maybe you should talk to him."

I said sternly. This journey wasn't over yet, and I'd be damned if I let this twit ruin it for the rest of us. Not that it was supposed to be enjoyable, but no one needed this kind of stress right now.

"No."

Lan said, still refusing to look at me.

"Fine. Be that way."

I got up, and stalked towards the door.

"Maybe I'll try talking to you again when you've gained a little sense!"

I stepped out of his room, slamming the door behind me. I turned to stalk back to my room, when I saw Sheena standing in front of me, staring at me curiously. I glared at her, and said

"He's not throwing anything, so I guess it's safe to talk to him now."

Ha, talk to that idiot, good luck.

00000

O.o…well, I updated, and Lan finally knows that Lloyd is his father. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to update again soon. Please review!

Thanks to those who did review: Hemi – Rose, Yukashi Tenshi (O.o ur name was underlined because I had coppied and pasted it from the review page, I didn't want to spell it wrong, and I didn't realize it was still underlined…sorry .) and Fan Fan Girl

Thanks for the reviews, I'm always looking forward to them. Hope this chapter wasn't a let down with the whole 'Lloyd telling Lan' thing.


	14. Where's Lloyd?

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 14 – Where's Lloyd?

(Siena's POV)

The next morning, everyone was rather quiet. Lan didn't even come out of his room till noon. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. Zelos, the annoying red head, grinned at Lloyd's son when he entered the Regal's room, where the Renegades had brought us lunch. I glanced around, wondering briefly why we always ended up in this room. Hmm, that's kind of weird, isn't it?

"Hey Lan, how'd you sleep?"

Lan gave his future step-father a withering look, and sat down at the table beside me. He turned his head slightly to look at me, and opened his mouth to speak. I didn't feel like talking to him right now. Standing up, I turned to Sheena

"Uh, Sheena, do you know where I could take a bath?"

She gave a small nod

"Come on, I'll show you."

I stood up, completely ignoring Lan. If he could be childish, I could be too.

(Zelos's POV)

I grinned weakly at Lan. He cringed when Siena stopped long enough at the door to glare at him. Poor guy, Siena seemed pretty angry with him. Well, if anyone knew how deal with these kind of problems, it was me. I'm a pro. Well, kind of.

"So, Lan, what exactly happened between the two of you?"

Stupid question. Don't know why I bother sometimes. The kid obviously hates me.

"Nothing."

He snapped. I sighed, and looked around. Was it me, or was the room suddenly barren of all females?

"Doesn't look like nothing."

It was probing a fire with a straw of hay. Pointless, and quite useless. Oh, and burning fingers. I wouldn't be surprised if he stabbed me to death one of these days.

"It's none of your business."

He said coldly, grabbing some food from table. I glanced around. Why did Regal have a dinning room table in his room? Life just wasn't fair.

"Well, then I'm making it my business. You're making everyone nervous, you're in some sort of fight with Siena, and your father hasn't come down to eat yet."

Lan flinched at the mention of Lloyd. He'd have to get used to the idea eventually. The two had seemed like they were becoming friends. I thought that Lan would be happy to find out Lloyd was his father.

"Shut up, idiot."

He growled, shoving food into his mouth. Maybe I shouldn't try talking to him when he had a fork and knife in his hands. Hmm, I didn't exactly want to end my life anytime soon. I sighed. Somebody had to talk to him, and it looked like Sheena didn't do to good of a job.

"First, I think we should come to terms with why you're angry."

I said, putting on a grin. Sometimes, this group was just so depressing. What would they do without me?

"Has anyone ever told you how incredibly annoying you are? Leave me the hell alone."

Lan pointed his fork at me. I was rather glad that I had my shield beside me. He'd probably use the fork to kill me any minute now.

"Ok, then we won't talk about Siena, or Lloyd. But I want to let you know that you've hurt your mother."

He blinked up at me, looking a little confused. I sighed, shaking my head. Teens now a days could be ignorant.

"Lan, you know me, I'll pester you till you talk. Why don't we just cut to the chase? Start talking kid."

I made my tone serious. He was starring at his lap now, hands resting on the table.

"Well?"

I asked, staring at him. He didn't look up, be replied

"Did he abandon my mom?"

I blinked at him.

"That's really not for me to tell. Why don't you talk to your parents? Is that why you're angry?"

He stood, and grabbed his plate, leaving the room. I sighed again. Sheena raised a difficult son. This would all just go a lot easier if he just talked to someone.

"Zelos? Have you seen Lloyd?"

Genis entered the room, looking a little worried. I frowned at him, and shook my head. Now that I thought about it, Lloyd was supposed to be sharing a room with Lan, wasn't he?

"Is something wrong?"

Genis shifted a little, and Presea came up beside him

"No one's seen Lloyd since last night."

Uh oh, this wasn't good. Where would he have gone? He wouldn't just leave without telling us, would he? Something felt very wrong.

"Then I guess we should go and search for him."

I replied, standing up

"Raine's asking the Renegades if any of them have seen Lloyd. So far, nothing."

"We've got something."

Raine said coming up behind her brother. I had joined Genis and Presea, and we walking down the hall, when the other half elf had joined us. We were all looking at her a little curiously

"One of the Renegades said that he say Lloyd leave on his reihard. Judging from the direction the Renegade said he left in, I believe he's gone back to Iselia."

Raine said matter-of-factly.

"Why would he just leave us like that?"

Genis demanded, sounding a little angry.

"Well, we'll have to got ask him to find out. I'll tell Regal where we're going. He can tell the others, and meet us there."

Lan had walked off to who-knows-where, Siena was taking a bath, no idea where Sheena would be now, and Regal was sleeping in his room. I was beginning to think the guy could sleep through anything. After informing Regal of the situation, the four of us left.

(Siena's POV)

I stepped out of the gigantic bathroom, fully refreshed, and not feeling quite so angry at a certain stupid human. Making my way back to where I figured the others would be, I ran into a very pale looking Lan. What was wrong with him now? Stupid emotional human.

"What's your problem now?"

I demanded, glaring at him. He flinched, and replied

"Lloyd's gone back to Iselia. Well, that's what Regal says, at least. If he's not there, then, well, he's disappeared."

And that would have been all your fault, eh, Lan? I frowned at him, and he continued

"Raine, Genis, Presea and Zelos all went a head. Regal says we're supposed to follow as soon as we're all ready."

Well, it had seemed strangely quiet, should have known something was up.

"Then let's get going."

He gave a small nod, and grabbing his wrist, I dragged him back to Regal's room. Sheena was waiting in there with the other human, and when I arrived pulling Lan behind me, they stood up. We left quietly. This group really seemed to care about each other. Strange, elves were so different. Everything was always about your duty. No one really cared how you felt about anything. I smiled slightly, shaking my head. Humans had it so easy.

(Lloyd's POV)

I winced, holding my side tightly, trying to stop the blood. Who'd have thought, that a quick visit to my dad's house, could result in something like this? I had only wanted to talk to Colette, and see Mattrim. Colette always knew how to make me feel better, and it would have been nice to see a son who didn't hate me. I tried sitting up, but that really didn't help the gapping wound in my side. I should have known Arkus would find out where my family was. Lucky me, I just happened to arrive when they were being attacked. Instead of killing us all, they took Colette and Mattrim, knocked out Dirk, and left me bleeding quite profusely. Did I mention I already lost a lot of blood? I began to wonder if I'd even make it out of this. Why didn't they just kill me, and get it over with? Why take my family? Not that I was going to argue with them about keeping them alive, but killing me would kind of defy the purpose of kidnapping my family. Maybe they didn't realize just how badly I'd been wounded.

Dirk limped over to me, having just regained consciousness. Maybe I wouldn't die after all. My dad ripped off one of his sleeves, moved my hand, and pressed the torn cloth firmly against my side. I winced, and looked at him weakly.

"You're going to be alright, son."

I certainly hoped so. Arkus just declared war. If he thought I'd let him get away with this alive, he was sorely mistaken. Now, I just had to live, and I could go save my family.

"Lloyd!"

I heard someone gasp from the door way. Wow, was it me, or was the world suddenly spinning? _No Lloyd, you had to stay awake. If you fall asleep, you might not wake up! _I scolded myself. Besides, I didn't want to die without setting things right with Lan. He was my son, after all. But shit, I just couldn't keep my eyes open.

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I'll update pretty soon. I've already got half the next chapter done. Hope you enjoyed the update, and please review!

Thanks to…

Hemi-Rose: . glad u liked it. I tried for a tense chapter, so I'm happy it seemed to work. Thanks for the review!

Yukashi Tenshi: nope, no beta . hope u like the update, thanks for reviewing

Fan Fan Girl: glad u enjoyed, and thanks for all the long reviews you've given me! .

I'll probably update tomorrow morning, or afternoon, hope you enjoyed it, even if it is a little shorter than usual…ciao


	15. Manipulation

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 15 - Manipulation

(Zelos's POV)

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Lloyd was lying on the ground, in pool of his own blood. Raine was rushing to his side, her staff held above him. We stood there tensely for a moment, before Dirk slowly took his hand away from Lloyd's wound, showing that the blood had stopped. Now, either he was dead, or Raine had been able to heal him.

"The wound's too deep for me to heal properly."

Raine said, sounding a little panicked. I cursed, and said

"What if we got the doctor from Flanoir? Could you keep him alive till then?

"I don't think I could do it for that amount of time. I'm not strong enough."

Not strong enough? Genis approached Raine slowly

"But can you try? I mean, we have to save him!"

Duh, of course we did.

"Hey, did you guys find him?"

Sheena asked from behind us. Presea and I blocked the doorway. This wouldn't be a good thing for Sheena or Lan to see. Siena frowned at us, and curled her lip slightly

"I smell blood. What happened in there?"

Presea and I glanced at each other. Raine was trying to keep him alive, we had to leave now if were going to get the doctor. Siena shoved past Presea and I, strolling into Dirks house calmly. Sheena, Lan, and Regal followed behind her. Sheena stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lloyd, the color drained from her face. Lan stiffened.

"Is he…?"

Sheena couldn't even ask the question. She looked about to fall over. She still loved him, didn't she? While the thought hurt a little, I opened my mouth to start shouting at the group that we had to get the doctor, when Siena, still a little calm, sat down beside Raine, and rested her hand on the half elf's shoulder. Raine gasped slightly. What was that elf trying to do? Lloyd could die here!

"Siena, what the hell are you doing?"

Genis demanded, looking about ready to drag her away from Raine. Siena shot him a withering look, before replying

"I'm giving her my mana. You want him to live, right?"

Giving her mana away? Wouldn't that kill her?

"A burst of yellow light covered Lloyd, as Raine's healing power increased. Lloyd let out a small moan, but his breathing didn't look so shallow anymore. Why wasn't Siena stopping? Lan ran over, and lunged at the elf, tackling her to the ground. She was motionless for a moment, before cursing slightly

(Siena's POV)

"You idiot, you nearly killed yourself!"

Lan yelled at me. Wasn't he aware that Elves had rather good hearing, and that his shouting was kind of killing my ear drums? Why was he on top of me? Stupid human.

"Get off of me, Lan."

I said coldly. Did he really think I'd give _all_ my mana away? I'm not an idiot. It was just that I'd never done it before, and I couldn't stop. Not my fault. I glared at Lan, who was staring me dumbfounded. Argh, I felt like I was going to throw up. Note to self: don't do that again. Lan suddenly flushed, as if he just realized the position we were in. He scrambled to his feet, muttering quick apologies.

"Guess it's a good thing we brought you along, huh?"

Zelos asked with a big grin. I could tell he was relieved. I frowned at him. I didn't do that save Lloyd, I just figured it would a little harder to save the world, if their leader died, and everyone got all emotional. Ha, when are humans not emotional? Stupid humans. I stood up, and nearly fell right over. Lan grabbed my arm, supporting me so that I wouldn't fall. Maybe I'd be nice and not incinerate him for touching me. I glared at him though, then turned my attention back towards the unconscious form of Lloyd, who was now being carefully lifted by Regal and Zelos. That short man who had been crouched beside Lloyd was obviously a dwarf, and he directed to two upstairs, to what I assumed to be a bedroom.

"Siena, do you need to lay down? You look kind of, pale."

Lan said, sounding a little worried. I glared at him, and whispered coldly

"Your father almost died, don't you think you should be worrying about him?"

I didn't save Lloyd for Lan, I did it for…

"Siena!"

Sheena was close to killing me when she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me so tightly, I thought my eyes would pop out. Stupid human.

"Mom?"

Lan asked, trying to draw his mother's attention from me. Maybe I was turning blue, and he didn't want his mother to be hunted down for the murder of an elf. I began gasping for air when she released me.

"You ok?"

Lan asked, Sheena turned around to hug Raine. Strange, I'd been under the impression she was with Zelos, it looked like she was the most excited one here that Lloyd was still alive. I settled with giving her a weird look. Lan took my elbow, and led me outside. Until that dwarf came downstairs, I guess we won't know what happened.

"Just where are we going?"

I asked, allowing myself to be pulled along.

"I just want to talk to you."

He replied, staring straight a head as he led me into the forest that surrounded the house. Hmm, this could be interesting. Lan stopped, let go of me, and sat down abruptly. I shrugged, before sitting down across from him. I waited for him to speak, but he was staring at his lap. After a few minutes of silence, he looked up, sighed, and said

"I'm sorry."

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue

"You were right, I was being childish. I just, didn't expect it."

Still, I waited. Let him talk. Humans always wanted to talk.

"I'm sorry for what I said about your father, too. I had no right to say that."

Damn straight he didn't. I paused, he didn't really say much about my father, just stated the fact that I had a crappy relationship with the guy, that wasn't so bad.

"Lan."

I said, making myself look serious. If he thought I'd forgive him so easily, he was wrong. He had to work for it. Grinning inwardly, I said

"You were acting stupid, but since your only a human, I'll that slide. Now, what you said really hurt."

Haha, riiiight. Lan, thinking I was actually being serious, winced, and replied

"That's why I'm apologizing. I don't like you being angry at me."

"Then how do I know you're really sorry in the first place? How do I know you mean it?"

Ooooh, the most evilest of plans just popped into my head. If I could force Lloyd to tell Lan he was his father, what was stopping me from…

"I do mean it!"

Lan said, sounding a little annoyed. I sniffled, pretending like I was going to cry. Lan cringed slightly, said

"I'm really sorry, ok?"

Oooh, the evilness of me.

"And you think saying sorry is going to fix it? I'm not the one you should be apologizing too! Lloyd is."

He stiffened.

"Talk to him, and maybe I'll forgive you."

Good thing he was stupid enough not to realize I was manipulating him. Stupid human.

"But…"

I could see the gears moving around in his head, trying desperately to come up with a reason not to.

"He almost died, Lan. Could you imagine dying, right after your own son rejects you?"

Lan's eyes widened

"I did nothing of the sort! I was surprised, and angry, but I don't-"

I was beginning to think I should slap him again.

"We all saw the whole thing. He told you, and without a word, you stepped into your room, and started freaking out. What's he supposed to think?"

Lan looked down again, and gave a small nod

"Fine, I'll talk to him."

What would these humans do without me? Now, after Lloyd was awake and walking, and after Lan talked to him, all we had to do was somehow get to Arkus's son, stop the crazy new king of Tethe'alla, and save the world. Aw crap.

(Lloyd's POV)

I was dead, I knew it. Everything was blurry, and really dark. I could voices talking around me, and wondered briefly who they were. Dirk, Zelos and Regal were talking above me. I wanted to tell them to hurry up, bury me, and get on with our journey. Saving Symphonia was more important that any of them grieving right now.

"Hey, I think he's waking up!."

Zelos's voice sounded really loud. I wanted to hit him with something. Did he have to annoy me even when I was dead?

"Lloyd?"

Dad said as he shook my shoulder. I groaned slightly. I was sore, did he have to do that? Wait, if I was dead, then how could I…?

"Did I die?"

I asked, trying to focus in on the three who now loomed above me. Asking seemed like a good idea, just to make sure.

"No, you're alive, Lloyd."

Regal said. The three were grinning, and Zelos said with one of his annoyingly stupid grins

"I'll tell the others he's awake. You two still have to tell us what happened."

Oi, wouldn't that be nice? I almost wish I had died. Colette and Mattrim were taken, how was I supposed to get them back?

"Don't worry, Lloyd, I'm sure everything will be fine."

Dad was saying to me, he must've seen my worried facial expression. If anything happened to either of them, death wouldn't be good enough for Arkus.

00000

sorry, another shorter than usual chapter O.o hope you liked it. I won't be able to post this weekend again, cause I'm gone for the weekend, camping and such. The next chapter will be much longer than this one . please leave a review!

thanks reviewers

LJ3: well, I was trying for a complex plot. With all the twists in the video game, I thought it would be a good idea to put that sort of thing in my fic. Thanks for the review .

Hemi-Rose: haha, yes, Lloyd's alive. What would TOS be without him? Thanks for always reviewing! .

DarkZeroX: up to chapter 11, eh? Glad u like it! Thanks for the review .


	16. Siena's Meddling

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 16 – Siena's Meddling

_I landed my reihard just outside of my dad's house, and slowly climbed off. Talking to Colette right now was something I desperately needed. Maybe she'd know what I should do about Lan. He hated me now, didn't he? Lan probably thought I abandoned him and Sheena. I didn't though, so why was I feeling so guilty? My shoulders slouched a little as I stepped up to the front door. _

_As I opened the door, I could hear a high pitched scream coming from Colette_

"_Mattrim, get back!"_

_Dirk shouted, stepping into the front door, I saw my dad swinging his hammer, aiming it at one of Arkus's soldiers. One of the intruders disarmed him, while another hit Dirk with the hilt of his sword. I stood frozen for a moment, to shocked to move. How did they find my family?_

_Colette saw me from across the room and I wasted no time in drawing my swords. How many men had come here? It didn't matter; I had to protect Colette and Mattrim. Colette turned our son away, making sure he wouldn't see any of the fight. She was holding her hands over his ears, and his hands clutched tightly to her dress. He was terrified. _

_I found myself fighting against several men, each obviously had more skill than any of Arkus's other men. I was put on the defensive, trying not to get surrounded in the small space of the living room area just inside the front door. Managing to slash one of them across the chest, I quickly turned to block another attack from behind. I didn't know how much longer I could keep this up. _

"_So, we meet again. Lloyd Irving."_

_The voice sounded familiar, and I knew that I'd met him before. He was faster than the other men I was fighting, and it was difficult to avoid being slashed into bits. _

"_Mattrim!"_

_Colette screamed. Turning my attention in the direction of my small family, I saw that two other men had snuck up on them. One had grabbed my son, dragging him from the house, while the other used the tip of his sword at my wife's throat forcing her to follow our son. I moved to stop them, but the man who'd spoken to me only moments ago jumped in front of me, and before I knew what was happening, he stabbed me in the side. He pulled the blade upwards slightly, and I cried out in pain. I gasped when he withdrew his weapon, and collapsed on the floor. It couldn't end this way. It just couldn't_

"…and that's when I got wounded."

I was sitting with my friends downstairs, explaining to them what had happened. There was a moment of silence. Of course, I left out most of what had happened, and told them just a summary of it. I spared a glance towards Lan, but he wasn't even looking at me. Siena was watching him with narrowed brows, and he flinched slightly when he met her gaze. Sheena was sitting beside Zelos, and starring at me intently. Zelos looked a little sad about something, and I wondered briefly what was bothering him.

"Are you well enough to get going, Lloyd?"

Presea asked, looking slowly around at the others while she spoke. I gave a slow nod. Thanks to Raine's healing, I was feeling pretty much ok. Just a little sore still. Nothing serious.

"Yeah."

Besides, I didn't want to waste time in finding Colette and Mattrim. Arkus was going to pay for this.

"I think perhaps we should return to the Renegades' base and see if Kratos and Yuan have returned. We may need their help in getting to Arkus's son."

Raine said with a firm nod of her head. She stood up, fully expecting the rest of us to agree.

"Sounds like a good idea."

Genis said, standing up as well. The others murmured silent agreements, and after saying goodbye to Dirk, we left back for the Renegades' base.

(Siena's POV)

I glared at Lan's back from behind him on the reihard. He hadn't said anything to Lloyd. The idiot wouldn't even look at him. I scowled, and pinched Lan's side. He yelped, and spared me a quick glance over his shoulder

"What was that for?"

He demanded

"For being a jerk."

I said, pinching him again. He yelped again, and growled

"Would you stop that?"

"No."

I pinched his side again, and this time he reached a hand back and grabbed my hand.

"I said to stop it, Siena."

"And I told you to talk to Lloyd, but you didn't."

I told him stubbornly. I pulled my hand back, and pinched his arm this time. He growled at me, and said angrily

"Maybe you should just stay out of it!"

"You promised you would, Lan. You liar."

I folded my arms across my chest, glaring at his back again. He sighed, exhaling slowly, before saying in a more civil tone, without looking back at me

"I know, I just, I need some time, ok?"

"Because you think it was all your fault, right?"

He didn't reply, so I pinched his arm with my fingernails. He jerked his arm away, and nearly lost control of the flying machine. I found myself grabbing onto his waist so that I wasn't thrown off the reihard. I looked up at him, to find his face beat red. I paused, grinning for a moment, before letting go of him, and settling back down behind him.

"Would you pay attention to where you're going?"

I said, still grinning

"It would be a whole lot easier if you stopped-"

I pinched him again, and chuckled when he turned to glare at me

"That's really get irritating."

"Really? You just passed the base."

He looked down, and glared at me while turning his machine around, parking it behind where the others had landed theirs. Everyone had already dismounted, and was walking towards the entrance by the time we got there. I jumped off, and didn't bother waiting for Lan as I ran to catch up with the others.

I found them talking to a few Renegades, asking if Kratos and Yuan were back yet.

"They should be returning soon. Lord Yuan contacted us and said they'd be back in a day or two."

A day or two was soon? Stupid humans. Lloyd turned to the group, and said

"Do we want to wait that long?"

He looked a little anxious, probably worrying about his family. Well, he should be.

"Looks like we don't have a choice. It'll be nearly impossible to get to Arkus's son, and we don't know what else to do. I'm sure the two will know how to find Colette and your son, Lloyd. We just have to be patient. They wouldn't have kidnapped them if they were going to kill them, so I'm sure they'll be fine."

Raine said while staring at Lloyd. Lloyd gulped slightly, and said

"I think I need some air. I'll be back soon."

He turned to leave, but Sheena followed

"Not without someone, you don't. Last time we found you nearly dead."

He grimaced slightly, but shrugged. The two walked back out of the base, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Zelos. He was watching them a little sadly. Don't know why, Lloyd was married, so what did Zelos have to worry about? Apparently a lot. Gah, stupid humans and their stupid frail emotions.

"Soooo, what are we supposed to do till they get back? Just sit around?"

Genis asked, sounding a little annoyed. They could wait a little, couldn't they?

"Hey Lan, wasn't Lloyd training you?"

I asked, turning my attention towards Lan. The others turned to look at him as well, and he glared at me

"What's you point?"

I glared at him, poking him in the chest

"What do you think my point is? You jerk, you're such an idiot."

I turned and stalked away, in the direction where I assumed our rooms from before were.

"At least I can tell where I'm going."

He said running up behind me. He grabbed my arm, and turned me towards a different hallway.

"You want to go this way."

Stupid human trying to make me feel like an idiot. I shook my fist at him before stalking off again. He sighed, and followed. Didn't Lan have someone else to bother? I found myself trying not to smile though, and I began to wonder why.

"Do you intend on staying in my room all night?"

I asked, glaring at Lan. He was sitting on a chair in my room. It was sometime after dinner, and I'd spent most of the day in the room with him, being completely quiet.

"Well, actually, yeah."

Because otherwise he'd have to share a room with Lloyd, right?

"Coward."

I said, throwing my pillow at him. He ducked, and it hit the door

"Am not."

He denied, grinning at me

"Then go to bed."

I said, trying to make my voice sound stern.

"And give me back my pillow, thief."

I told him, holding out my hand. He gave me a black look, picked up my pillow, and said

"You're the one who threw it."

"Am not."

I replied, giving him an innocent grin. He tossed the pillow back at me, and I caught it in both hands. I placed it back down on the bed, and then stood up. If he wasn't going to go talk to Lloyd willingly, I'd just have to make him. I smirked slightly as I walked towards him. He gave me a strange look, before wincing when I grabbed his ear and twisted it. I got him to stand up, and led him out the door towards his own room. I needed sleep too, damn it.

"Hey, Siena let go."

Lan whined, trying to pull my hand away from his ear. I only twisted his ear again, and replied

"You're going to your room."

"But Siena…"

He whined again. I stopped in front of his room, opened the door, and smiled when I saw Lloyd sitting on one of the two beds in the room.

"Hey Lloyd, could you possibly take him off my hands for a little while? I'm kind of tired of baby sitting him."

Lan glared at me before I shoved him into the room, closing the door quickly. I pressed my ear up against the door, waiting for one of them to say something.

(Lan's POV)

When I got my hands on Siena, I'd make her pay for this. I told her I'd talk to him in my own time. This was just forcing the issue.

"She's a, uh, forceful girl, isn't she?"

Lloyd said, looking a little nervous. I was surprised he'd even talk to me. It was my fault he nearly got killed, wasn't it? I laughed nervously in reply, and said

"Yeah."

There was a moment of awkward silence, as I made my way towards the second bed on the other side of the room. I began taking my daggers off, with my back towards my father. It was kind of weird knowing who my father was. I never expected to actually find out. After all my daggers were resting on the bed, I sat down, and began unsheathing them. I had to clean them. Well, I didn't have too, but I didn't exactly feel like talking to Lloyd. I think I liked it better when I didn't know he was my father. Now it seemed like there was a lot more tension in the group. That was my fault too, wasn't it? I just had to know.

"I'm sorry, Lan."

Lloyd said suddenly. I froze with one hand above one of my daggers, and slowly looked over at him. What did he have to be sorry about?

"Don't be. I'm sorry."

I replied looking back at my daggers. We were silent again, and I decided I'd break the silence this time.

"So, uh, how long did you know I was your son?"

I asked, finally looking over at him. I couldn't help but ask, could I? Lloyd actually laughed. I gave him a blank look, and he turned from his sitting position to look over at me, grinning

"Remember when we first came here, and I sort of blacked out?"

I gave him a strange look

"Well, that's when."

My jaw dropped. That was only a few days before he told me, wasn't it? I found myself laughing suddenly. Maybe it was just the image of Lloyd passing out because he found out I was his son, or maybe it was just a release of tension, but I laughed. When I settled down, I asked

"So, what ever happened between you and my mom?"

Lloyd sighed, and gave a small shrug

"Well, uh, I think you should probably ask her yourself. I don't want you thinking badly of her when you hear my side of it."

I frowned at him.

"I think I should hear both sides."

I told him. He sighed, and replied

"One day your mother just left."

That was it? She left? I lived without a father because she just up and left?

"She left a note that said 'I'm not ready'. I had no idea what she meant by that. I assumed it was that she wasn't ready to get married or something like that."

I defiantly had to ask my mother about that.

"When did you marry Colette, then?"

I asked, not quite sure why I wanted to know

"About three years later."

He replied, looking away now. I admit, it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear, but I guess it could have been worse. We were quiet for a little while again, and I found myself looking out the window. It wasn't dark yet, so I turned to Lloyd, and asked hesitantly

"So were you, uh, going to train me still?"

He looked a little surprised at this, but then smiled

"Of course."

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Well, I hoped you all enjoyed the update . The fic is going to get back to the whole 'Arkus trying to take over the world' thing pretty quick. Please leave a review

Thanks to those who did review:

Fan Fan Girl: haha, evil powers for good. Sounds like Siena . thanks for the review!

Sieg15: Hope the ending wasn't a disappointment from what you were hoping would happen between Lloyd and Lan's little talk. Thanks for reviewing!

Hemila-Rose: Glad you liked it . thanks for the review!

JKaitz: lol, glad you like Siena thanks for reviewing!


	17. Arthur

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 17 - Arthur

It was just over twenty-four hours later while our group was in the middle of having lunch, when Kratos and Yuan stepped into the room, _casually_. You'd think that everything was perfectly fine in the world for all the care they seemed to show. I stood up immediately, about to tell them what had happened with Colette and Mattrim, when I saw a young man follow behind the pair. My jaw dropped, and I nearly had a heart attack. The young man at the door seemed to draw a similar reaction from each of my companions. We had only seen him once, for a very short time, and he was the last person we expected to see here.

"Dad…?"

I started, the words just wouldn't come out. How had they…?

"Yes, Lloyd?"

I could see Kratos visibly restraining a grin. Was it me, or did hell just freeze over?

"Isn't that…"

I was pointing to the young man, still shocked beyond relief. Picking my jaw back up from the floor, I waiting patiently for my father to explain.

"Kratos, what's going on here?"

Raine spoke before Kratos could respond, and he gave an indifferent shrug.

"Nothing's going on, we simply brought back Yuan's spy."

Spy? This guy was a spy? How the heck did that work? Well, maybe we could make this work.

"Hey, aren't you Arkus's son?"

Lan looked a little puzzled. We all stared intently at him, and the young man gave a resigned sigh

"My name's Arthur, and yes, Arkus is my father."

He didn't sound too pleased about it.

"Then why would you be a spy for an organization trying to stop your own father?"

Lan questioned with a frown. I looked over at him, thinking that it probably wasn't a great thing to ask the guy. Siena cuffed my son on the back of his head, and he gave her an indignant look

"Think before you speak, idiot. Not everyone gets a long with their dad."

The room was silent for a moment. How true that was. Siena didn't get along with her father, and merely days ago, Lan wouldn't even talk to me. I sighed, and said

"Dad, Colette and Mattrim are-"

"I know, Lloyd."

Kratos cut me off in the middle of my sentence, and I frowned in reply.

"That's why we're here. Arthur is going to help you get them back. At the same time, we're going to get rid of Arkus."

Get rid of Arkus, like kill him? That was defiantly a way to go about doing it. Had the guy not taken my family, I might have asked if there was another way to go about doing it. If a single hair on either Colette or Mattrim, I'd kill the guy myself.

"You're ok with this?"

Lan was staring at Arthur as if the young man had grown a second head. Arthur's face darkened slightly, and he replied

"He killed my mother. I don't exactly care."

Yikes, problems at home.

"Can we get going? I don't want Colette or Mattrim to stay there longer than necessary."

I had no idea where Arkus's men had taken them, but there was chance that Arthur would know.

"We just need to split into two groups. One to find Colette and Mattrim, the other to find Arkus."

That made sense. If Yuan and Kratos came along, our group would be just a little too big.

"In that case, Kratos, Lloyd, Lan, Sheena, Zelos and I will be the group that goes searching for Lloyd's family."

Siena smirked slightly at the others, then saying sweetly

"If that's ok with the rest of you."

She didn't sound like she was asking. I gave a shrug, and no one argued. So, we split up.

(Siena's POV)

"Arthur said that they were brought to an invisible base near Asgard. I have the location, so it should be fairly easy to find."

Kratos had a map in his hands, and was, for the most part, talking to Lloyd. I glanced around at our small group. It was past dinner time, and we were currently at an Inn inside of Asgard. I stretched, feeling a little bored, and stood up. We weren't going to go to the Invisible fortress until tomorrow. Kratos and Lloyd were trying to plan exactly what we would be doing. I highly doubted they'd be able to come up with anything good, but oh well, they're only human.

"Hey, Siena, want to go outside?"

Lan asked, grinning at me. Why was he so happy all of a sudden? Wierdo.

"Meh, sure."

I shrug, and stand up. Not like I had anything else to do.

"So, what's your problem this time?"

I asked once we left the Inn. He blinked at me in confusion, and gave me a weird look

"Nothing. It's just kind of…quiet in there."

Lan replied with a sigh. Quiet? Would he rather everyone be yelling? I cuffed him across the back of his head, and he glared at me

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because it's either that, or slap you."

He gave me a blank look, and said

"That's not exactly comforting."

"It wasn't meant to be."

I snapped back. We both glared at each other, before I let out a bark of laughter.

"What?"

Lan was giving me that weird look again, so I draped one arm across his shoulders, and said with a grin

"It's just that, isn't Kratos your grandfather? He doesn't look old enough to be."

I started laughing again, and Lan smiled. Hmm, he wasn't that bad looking when he stopped scowling. I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand, before banging my head against a stone pillar-like-thing.

"Siena?"

Lan gave me a puzzled look.

"What?"

"Why are you doing that?"

I hit my head again, and replied

"Cause it's one of my favorite pass times. Why do you think?"  
I hit my head again, and heard him sigh.

"Here I was beginning to think you were almost normal, then you go and do that."

He grabbed one of my shoulders, and pulled me away from the pillar. He pointed near some stairs, saying

"Lloyd said that there was a platform up there. Want to check it out?"

I shrugged, and replied

"Sure."

My head was throbbing, and I cursed Lan loudly. He looked back at me, and asked

"What's wrong?"

"This is your fault, you know."

I said pointing towards my head. That weird look came back, and I sighed. If he thought I was so weird, why did he bother talking to me?

"I don't recall forcing you to do it."

"Be quiet and let me blame you."

I shook my finger in his face, and he suddenly grinned at me

"If that's what makes you happy…"

He turned around, and strolled towards to stone stairs. He thinks I'm weird? I'm not the one nearly skipping up some ancient stair case. I ran after him to catch up.

"You were gonna leave me? All alone?"

I asked, sniffling slightly. He looked at me in surprise, before I cuffed him again on the side of his head. Ha! Take that. He scowled at me, and said

"Would you stop being so childish?"

Hmm, why did that sound familiar?

"Hey, that's my line, jerk."

I said, before running up the remainder steps. He sighed again, and muttered

"If anyone ever understands her, it'll be the day I-"

"Lan?"

I said sweetly, he looked up, curious and asked

"What?"

"Can I see one of your daggers?"

He blinked at me, and shrugged. He handed over the one on his belt, and asked

"Why?"

"Because I'm going spider killing."

I gave a small cackle, before running off towards some trees.

(Lan's POV)

Was it me, or was it the happier she got, the more she lost her sanity? Spider killing, what the heck? Made sense though, girls hated spiders, didn't they? I followed her, with the intent of keeping her out of trouble, when she suddenly screamed.

"Siena?"

I called, trying to find her.

"I'm up here!"

She yelled. I looked up in the tree, wondering how she could have gotten up there. What a weird elf.

"What's your problem?"

I asked, sighing. She was pointing the dagger at something in the tree I couldn't see, and said

"I found this gigantic mother of a spider. You've got to see it before I kill it."

"What did the spider ever do to you?"

I asked, reaching up and grabbing a branch. I pulled myself onto it, and looked at the soon-to-be-dead-spider. I had to admit, the thing was kind of big.

"If I kill it, does that make me a bad person?"

She sounded a little thoughtful as she spoke, and I gave her a weird look. She grinned at me, and then picked up the spider with one hand.

"I mean, it didn't do anything to me, so doesn't that make me a bad person for killing it?"

Why was she so serious all of a sudden? She put the spider up on a higher branch, and said, staring at me intently, while waving my dagger in front of my face

"Killing anything is wrong, Lan. Life is to be protected, not killed without a reason."

"And you point is..?"

I was giving her a weird look again. She just went from annoyed, to crazy, to serious, all within the pan of fifteen minutes.

"My point? I don't think we should kill Arkus."

She said it bluntly, and I frowned at her. Not kill Arkus? There kind of was a reason for doing that, wasn't there? Save people from an upcoming war? Save my dad's family? Revenge for the few people from Mizuho who died when his men attacked?

"So we just let him take over Symphonia, then?"

She glared at me, and said

"I just think that there could be a different way to go about doing it."

A different way? The guy was the king of Tetha'alla, what other way was there?

"Siena, can we just drop it?"

I really didn't feel like arguing with her about this. She was staring at me intently for a moment, before that crazy grin took over her face, and she lunged at me. We fell out of the tree, with a painful thud. I broke her fall, and she just grinned at me, saying

"That's for knocking me over while Raine was healing Lloyd."

Wha..? I did that so she wouldn't kill herself.

"You could have died at the rate you were going."

Giving that much mana away wasn't exactly a bright idea, but it saved my dad, so I wasn't going to argue.

"That's beside the point. You could have done it differently."

My jaw dropped, and I gawked at her. She stood up, and helped me to my feet. My back was sore, and I wouldn't be surprised if I sprained something.

"Lan? I've got a question for you."

I watched her quietly, waiting for her to speak again. She was staring at the sky while she spoke

"Are you my friend? Or do you hang out with me because I'm the only one here aroundyour age?"

I gave her a blank look. What kind of a question was that?

"You're my friend, Siena."

I told her, she smiled slightly, and said almost sadly

"The elves back home only tolerated me because of who my father was."

I don't think she realized she was talking out loud. She grinned at me again, and said

"Then I'm happy you're my friend. It's getting late, we should go back."

Talk about mood swings. I kind of wish she'd make up her mind. But then again, she wouldn't be Siena if she did, would she?

"Let's go then."

The walk back to the Inn was done mostly in silence. I opened the door for her when we finally reached it, and found myself looking in the direction where the entrance to Asgard was. I blinked slightly, and wondered if I was seeing right.

"Siena, why's your dad here?"

She turned her head slightly, following my gaze.

"Get inside, Lan."

She said while quickly ducking into the Inn. I followed her, wondering what was going on.

"Siena?"

I asked, still a little confused.

"Why are they still wearing those colors?"

She sounded a little angry, and glared through a window at them. My eyes widened when I realized the elves with her father were wearing the same uniforms that Arkus's men wore. What the heck?

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Oo…sorry, most of this chapter was just a lot of babbling. There'll be more action in the next chapter, though. Well, hope you liked it, and please review .

Thanks to reviews:

Hemila-Rose: thanks., and thanks for reviewing!

Luigi III: hands over pain killers that help? . thanks for reviewing, though, I've got to admit, I'm a little puzzled by it…

Sieg15: Sheena will tell her side of the story pretty soon, just be a little patient for me to get there. . thanks for reviewing!


	18. Elves

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 18 – Elves

(Siena's POV)

Shit. Of all the idiotic things my father could possibly do, of all the self centered, foolish, pathetic - why'd it have to be this? I was still sitting underneath the window in the Inn, Lan sitting next to me. What was my father up to? He couldn't possibly still be working for Arkus, right? I mean, the only reason he was doing that in the first place, was because I had been abducted. Right? It took all I had not to laugh. Of course he was up to something, why would he care if I lived or died anyway?

I glanced at Lan, and whispered urgently

"Lan, go warn the others. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Bad feeling? That was putting it lightly. I _knew_ something bad was going to happen. Lan shook his head, and opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off with another harsh whisper.

"Do it, Lan. My father will be able to sense where I am if he tries. He'll find out where we are. I've got to get moving."

Was he still working with Arkus? I waited till Lan finally gave me a defeated look, and headed up the stairs. I looked around quickly, trying to find a way out. There had to be a back door somewhere, right? I cursed slightly, remembering that behind the Inn was a mountain like wall. Why me?

"Guess I've got no choice."

I stood up, and stepped out of the Inn, right in front of the other elves. I saw eyes widen from the men behind my father, and someone said

"You're safe? Thank goodness."

My father though, he was glaring at me.

"Looks like we can head back home now, right?"

I said, smiling at the other elves, while completely ignoring my father. He was furious. What did he expect? I aimed to find out what was going on. Obviously, the other elves were still under the impression that I'd been kidnapped. Strange how they didn't know that I had be rescued. Perhaps not so strange. I turned to glare at my father, saying

"Right, _Dad_?"

He smirked slightly, and said

"Siena, why don't you go on without us? We've got some business to attend to here."

"But Elder…"

Began one of my father's men. Rufus, I believe his name was.

"We'll finish what we started."

"But why, _dad_? I'm safe, aren't I? What would the reason be?"

It was no small wonder why I hated him so much. He never gave me any reason to think otherwise of him.

"Siena…"

My father hiss in a warning

"But did you know I was here? That's why you came, isn't it?"

I replied innocently. He stared at me for a long minute, before glancing at the Inn I had just stepped out of.

"First, I think we should pay a small visit to some pathetic humans."

Pathetic humans? Since when did my father talk like that? I glared at him, and said

"No. Now either tell me what the hell is going on, or leave."

"Siena?"

Rufus sounded genuinely confused. Of course he was; no one in our village knew how much I despised my father. I was always supposed to act like the perfect daughter. How much I hated that, could never be formed into proper words.

"Rufus, why don't you escort my daughter out of here, hm? We still have somethings to take care of."

(Lloyd's POV)

"What!"

I exclaimed, shocked at what Lan was saying.

"She told me to come up here and warn you guys."

He looked a little worried, but the rest of us were still confused. What was so bad about the Elder being here? Maybe they were just wearing Arkus's colors because that was what they'd been wearing when they found out that Siena was safely away from Arkus. They probably just came here to find her, and take her home.

"Warn us, Lan? Why?"

Sheena asked, puzzled. This wasn't making any sense. One minute we're talking about saving Colette and Mattrim, the next Lan comes barging into the room, looking half panicked, half angry.

"I don't know, but she's worried, so something's probably going on."

Better safe than sorry, huh? I sighed, and replied

"Then we'll just have to go down there and check it out."

I picked my swords up from the table, still thinking that this was nothing to be worried about. I had met the Elder only briefly a few times, and I doubted that he could be doing anything less then trying to bring his daughter home.

(Siena's POV)

Oh, now I understand what's going on. How could I have been so stupid? First my father's seemingly following that Arkus guy's orders, giving everyone the impression that it was just because I'd been abducted, then he barely tried to stop me from joining Lan and the others. I should have realized this all earlier. But I was stupid, wasn't I? An elf, so easily falling into a trap like this, how sad. But wasn't that just like me? My life was sad. I was so pathetic.

"You let me go with them so that you could keep track of where they were going, didn't you?"

I was a fool to ever think otherwise. No wonder my father was so ashamed of me. Perhaps if he'd had a son instead of me, he'd have offspring worthy of elven blood.

"Elder?"

One of the other elves spoke up this time, looking a little puzzled. I found myself staring at the ground, thinking that it was a good thing we had all split up into to groups. Otherwise, how would Arkus ever be stopped?

"I believe there are a group of humans in the Inn. I want you all to go in there, find them, and bring them out here. Use force if you have to."

The elves did as they were told, scurrying into the building. I had the sudden urge to cry. Why me? When I finally meet people who could possibly be real friends, my father goes and destroys it like this. I found myself staring at the ground, finding my shoes much more interesting. I closed my eyes tightly, not sure who I wanted to win. The elves were my people, but, Lan, Lloyd and the others, they were like my friends, weren't they? What chance did they have against pure blooded elves? They were outnumbered. Five against more than a dozen trained elf soliders.

(Lloyd's POV)

I opened the door, to find myself in front of some very annoyed looking elves. Raising a questioning eyebrow at them, I asked them if they needed something.

"You'll come with us outside. Now."

The young man raised his sword threateningly. Wha..?

"Where's Siena?"

Lan demanded, glaring the elves that stood just outside of the room we were currently standing in.

"She's outside, with her father."

He replied, glaring at Lan. My son glared back, one hand on one of his twin blades. I smiled slightly to myself, feeling a little proud that my son was able to fight now with the same weapon as me. It was a small thing, but it was still something, and I was happy about it.

"The Elder commands you all go outside."

An elf from behind the one who spoke before said while glaring at us. Zelos sighed, stepping in front of them, and said

"I think we missed the memo that said we had to obey everything that you're boss says."

I had the urge to hit the former chosen, but restrained myself. We weren't going to fight with these elves, at least I hoped not, and we didn't need Zelos starting anything.

"Why you-"

The elf took an angry step forward, stopped only when Lan unsheathed one of his swords, and pointed it at the man's throat. The elf stopped, glaring at my son. I sighed, and said

"Couldn't we just talk this over?"

Apparently not. The rest of us were forced to quickly draw our weapons, as one of the other elves used his sword to push Lan's blade away from his comrad's throat. The rest of the elves all lunged at us, forcing us to go further inside of the small room. This really wasn't the best place to start fighting, but we weren't exactly given a choice.

"Don't kill any of them!"

I called to the others, defending myself against two elves who were slashing at me repeatedly with their swords. One of them went spell happy, and began throwing fire, lightning, and ice at me repeatedly. It was extremely difficult not to get hit by the spells, along with the elf that was still trying to cut me into pieces…well, it was an interesting work out.

"Lloyd!"

Lan called from across the room. I glanced at my son quickly, to see him standing over his mother, who was laying on the ground. I froze, my eyes wide. Was she..?

"Stupid human!"

The elf casting the spell took the opportunity to hit me with fire, and I barly missed being completely hit my it. My shoulder, though, now that was a different matter. I cursed at the elf, before lunging forward with my swords, changing my mind at the last minute to hit him with the hilt of my swords instead. I hit him hard in the stomach, and he buckled to the ground in an unconscious heap. The other elf turned to attack me, but I dodged him easily, and hit him with the blunt side of my sword on the side of his head. He too fell down, and I ran across to the room to help Lan. Zelos beat me to it, though, and used his shield to hit one of the elves attacking Lan unconscious. Sparing a quick glance at my dad, I could see that he had easily taken care of his opponents, and was in the middle of casting a first aid spell. He sent the spell to Sheena, who stirred slightly and groaned.

Four elves remained, but seeing that they were now outnumbered, they stepped back from us, looking a little uncertain. I grinned at them, and said

"See? Now, could we discuss this like civilized people?"

Of course, that was before I saw several more elves enter from the hall way. Just how many were there?

(Siena's POV)

I laughed suddenly, because I didn't know what else to do. I felt useless, like the burden I was. They wouldn't even be in this situation if wasn't for me. Laughing, I found myself fingering Lan's dagger that I had tucked into my belt instead of returning to him. I wasn't useless, was I? I had a point to living, didn't I? Laughing at myself this time, I tilted my head, staring at my father, who looked a little startled. That's right, _dad_, you're daughters not right in the head, and you just made her snap.

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. hope you liked it. I originally wrote this in just two parts, half from Siena, and half from Lloyd, but I changed my mind, and did it this way. Hope it makes sense :p anywho, I'll try to update pretty quick. I seem to be slowing down with my updates, but that's because I've been busy lately. So, I apologize. Oh, and please review! .

Thanks to…

Hemila-Rose: . glad u find it interesting! Thanks for reviewing .

Fan Fan Girl: heh heh, glad to see my little twist there was suprising after all. I thought things were getting just a little too…layed out. Anywho, thanks for reviewing!


	19. She's Gone

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 19 – She's gone

(Lan's POV)

We had taken care of most of the elves, in a 'they're not dead, but they'll be sore when they wake up' kind of way, by the time I was able to race back outside to where Siena was. She was alone with her father now, and I really doubted that was a good thing.

Though, I didn't quite think that the extent of the two meeting could be quite so…bad.

She was trying to kill him.

Kill him with my dagger.

Oh, and fire, there was plenty of fire around.

"Siena!"

I called, as her father dodged one of her lunges, barely missing the blade aimed at his chest. He threw some lighting at her, and she fell with a shriek.

"Siena, stop!"

I tried again. She ignored me, and picked herself up off the ground. She turned towards her father; one of her arms hanging at her side, the fabric of her shirt looked a little scorched. The others came up behind me, and stared in shock as Siena lunged, once again, at her father. Only this time, she ducked at the last minute, rolled behind him, and stood up while thrusting the blade towards the middle of the Elder's back. Had he not put a shield around himself, the blade would have done more than graze his spine.

"Siena, stop this now."

I said while taking a few steps towards her. She laughed when her father turned around, glaring at her.

"Oh come on, dad, you've been waiting for me to snap, haven't you?"

She used her good shoulder to body slam him into the wall of the Inn. I got the impression that it had been quite a while since the Elder had fought someone.

"I hate you!"

She screamed at him, she raised her blade again, fully intent on killing him. I wasn't sure if she'd be happy about killing him, or not, but I couldn't just let my friend do something like that. So, I did what I had done the last time had done something semi-stupid. I tackled her to the ground, wrestling the dagger from her, and holding her good arm behind her back. She let out a furious shriek, and tried twisting out form underneath me. I glanced quickly at the Elder, who was still standing near the outside of the Inn, staring at us with this dumbfounded look on his face.

"Lan, get the hell off me now, or I swear I'll kill you."

She hissed, glaring at me over her shoulder. She really was out for blood, wasn't she?

"Siena, I'm your friend. I'm not going to let you do something that you could possibly regret later on. It's what friends do."

I told her calmly, looking again at the Elder. He hadn't moved at all. Lloyd and the others had all stepped out of the Inn, looking from the Elder then to Siena and I.

"I hate him, why would I regret it?"

She sent a glare towards her father, before suddenly using some of her mana to push me away. It wasn't exactly gentle, either. Felt like someone just hit me with a wall.

(Siena's POV)

Lan gave a small groan as he stood up, stepping in between me and my father. I glared at him defiantly, and began gathering mana in my good hand, getting ready to cast a spell. If he won't get out of my way, all the better. Stupid human.

"Siena, you told me just today that killing anything would be wrong. That there has to be another way of doing things."

I stiffened slightly, before I relaxed with a chuckle

"Lan, you too ignorant of the world, aren't you? No matter what you do, you can't stop people from killing each other."

"So what was that all about in the tree? Were you saying that for no reason? Did you mean anything you said?"

Hmm, so now I'm a liar?

"I was thinking out loud, Lan. I do that sometimes."

I shrugged, trying to hide my wince when my left shoulder protested the movement.

"Apparently."

Lan said dryly. I had the over whelming urge to laugh again.

"Move Lan, this is my last warning."

Lloyd and the others were making no move to stop what was going on. Maybe they figured Lan could stop me. Too bad my sanity level's just not good enough to keep me from hurting him too.

"No."

Lan moved into a fighting stance. He was protecting my father. Why did that feel like such a betrayal? He said we were friends, right? Shouldn't he understand this? Well, too late now. I felt my body move before I realized what I was doing. I thrust several balls of fire towards him, picking the dagger up off the ground in the process, before following the balls of flame. Lan put up a shield to stop the fire, but was caught off guard when I ended up in front of him. The dagger in my hand thrusting into his side before I could stop it. I froze, starring wide eyed at him. Lan gasped slightly, and I jerked my hand away from the dagger, taking a few steps back. What had I done? I began shaking, starring at him in a kind of horror-filled-shock.

"Lan!"

Lloyd called. The next thing I new, Lan collapsed onto his side, the dagger protruding from his other side. That wasn't a mortal wound, right? He wasn't going to die, right? Lloyd was cursing, and the others quickly went to the fallen youth. None of us even realized that my father and the elves (who must've just woken up) were exiting Asgard.

Raine wasn't here, what were we going to do about Lan?

(Lloyd's POV)

I hadn't expected Siena to actually attack Lan like she did. If I'd known it was going to happen, I would have stopped it. I took the blade of my son's bleeding wound, and Zelos had taken off his jacket and was pressing it against Lan's wound. Without Raine here, I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know how bad the injury was. I spared a glance at Siena, who had fallen just a few feet from us. She was on her knees, staring at Lan. She looked terrified, and grief stricken. I glared at her, before saying

"The only doctor I can think of is in Flanoir."

I glanced over at my father, who looked a little worried

"Do you think he'll make it there?"

Kratos was silent for a moment, before crouching beside me, and trying a first aid spell. Lan groaned a little, and said quietly

"What do you mean 'make it'? I'm not going to die from this."

Looks like that first aid spell helped a little.

"We should still go to Flanoir, to have the doctor look at it. What I did was only temporary, and will probably start bleeding again soon."

Kratos straightened up, and with Zelos's help, we got Lan on his feet. Though, he couldn't exactly stand properly. Sheena stalked over to Siena, and glared down at the elf, before saying

"I can't believe you did that. I thought the two of you were friends."

Siena was still staring at Lan, her facial expression never changing. Angrily, Sheena slapped the young elf across the face,

"You shouldn't even be traveling with us. Elf."

Sheena said it so coldly, that for a moment, I couldn't help but gawk at her. Siena had just injured our son, after all, and slapping her was one thing, but…

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Siena slowly stood up, her head bowed so that none of us could see her face. She turned around, and bolted. She just ran away from us.

"Siena, wait…"

Lan began weakly, he groaned slightly, before glaring at his mother. How could he not be angry with Siena?

"Come on, we've got to take Lan to that doctor."

Sheena said, ignoring the glares coming from Lan. We made our way towards our Reihards, which were hidden in a small forest just outside of Asgard. I stayed with Lan just outside of Asgard while the others went to retrieve the Reihards.

"Lan? How are you feeling?"

I asked, feeling a little worried, he was quiet for a moment, before saying

"I'm fine."

He was silent for another minute, then said

"Mom didn't have to do that, it wasn't her fault."

"Lan, better she left now, than later, right? I mean, the elves were able to track her down some how, so…"

Lan obviously didn't like hearing this. He glared at me sharply, and said

"She's my friend, and I'm worried about her."

You friend who just stabbed you and fled. Right

"Lan, she'll be fine."

"No she won't!"

Slightly taken aback by my son's outburst, I waited a moment for him to calm down. He didn't have much time to do that, though, because the others arrived with the reihards (we had four, but we could always pick the other one up later). Zelos hopped down from his reihard, and helped me bring Lan towards Sheena's reihard. He glared at his mother, and said

"I want to ride with Lloyd."

Sheena stared at him for a minute, looking a little stunned. Lan was still glaring at her, after all, so she was probably confused as to why he was angry.

"Lloyd, take Sheena's, she can ride with me."

Zelos said, as Sheena opened her mouth to speak. I gave a nod, and we helped Lan up the reihard. Lan grimaced, and said

"You know, my wounds not that serious, I don't think we need to do this."

"We're not taking any chances."

Zelos replied, walking back towards his reihard with Sheena. I glanced at Lan once, before saying

"You didn't have to snap at Sheena that way. She's just worried about you."

Lan scowled at me, and I grimaced. This whole thing was going from bad to worse. We still had to rescue Colette and Mattrim. Why couldn't these 'save the world' journeys just be easy? Grr.

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sorry for taking so long to update. I meant to do so sooner, but school's starting, and I've been busy. Well, hope you liked it. I'll try to update before Friday with a more…back to the plot and longer chapter.

Thanks to…

Hemila-Rose: thanks for your continuous reviews!


	20. Why?

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Authors Note: Sheena's POV

Chapter 20 – Why?

_"Hmm, Lloyd? What was that?"_

_I rolled over onto my side, to face the smilling swordsman_

"_I said, we've been seeing each other for quite some time now, right?"_

_Smiling at him, I gave a nod of my head _

"_Well, er…"_

_Lloyd looked a little flustered, He tried again_

"_Well, what would you think of, uh, starting a family?"_

_A family? I frowned at him slightly_

"_We're still young, Lloyd, what's the rush?"_

_He grimaced slightly, and replied_

"_Well, it's just that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and with you living in Mizuho and all…"_

_He looked at me quietly, waiting for my response. I sighed, and replied_

"_Lloyd, I can't stay away from the village that long. You know that. I have duties there. I'm the granddaughter of the Chief."_

_Lloyd sighed, looking a little sad_

"_Can we talk about this later, Lloyd?" _

_He looked at me and shrugged. _

"_Sure."_

_He didn't sound very enthused about it, and sat up, pulling the blankets off of him as he got out of bed._

"_You want eggs?"_

_I smiled at him_

"_Sure, with cheese?"_

"_And coffee?"_

_I smiled again, as he left the room. He knew me so well._

I sat up with a start, glancing around the small room. That was a strange thing to dream about. Zelos was sleeping in a chair by my bed, facing me. I smiled at him, before getting up, and placing a blanket over him. He really was a sweet guy.

"Sheena?"

I glanced towards the door to see Lloyd standing there, looking a little tired. Well, he should be. He's stayed up most of the night so far.

"Yeah?"

I walked towards him, lowering my voice so that I wouldn't wake Zelos.

"The doctor said that Lan only needs a little rest, and he should be good as new."

Lloyd replied quietly, sparing a glance towards the Former Chosen. I sighed with relief. That was good. When we had arrived at Flanoir, Lan had passed out, and his wound had opened again.

"I just thought I'd tell you before going to sleep."

He sounded about ready to fall asleep where he stood. I gave him a grateful nod, and asked

"Has he woken up at all?"

Lloyd grinned

"For a little while. He asked for something to eat, and fell back asleep by the time we got him some food."

I smiled in reply, and Lloyd stretched with a yawn.

"Well, g'night."

"Night, Lloyd."

He left my room without another word, and I walked back to my bed, falling on it. We were currently all resting in an Inn, except of course for Lan, who was at the doctors office still. I pulled the pillow closer, resting my head on it, as I fell back asleep.

_Impossible, this couldn't be happening. I glared at the old woman in front of me, and hissed_

"_Try again."_

"_I'm sorry, Sheena, but there's nothing else for me to do. I'd only get the same results back."_

_I glared at her, before turning my gaze towards the window in my room. This _couldn't_ be happening. Not now. I was far too young for this, and Lloyd…_

"_Are you sure?"_

_I asked quietly. _

"_Possitive."_

"_Don't tell anyone, alright? I'll deal with it."_

"_Alright, but don't wait to long."_

_I got up to leave, but she asked _

"_If you don't mind my asking, who's the-"_

_I slammed the door behind me. _

"Awake?"

Zelos was standing by the bed, grinning down at me.

"I am now."

I said, sitting up and stretching at the same time.

"Well, everyone else is getting ready to have breakfeast, you want to come?"

I gave a nod, and stood up. Zelos left the room a head of me, and I grimaced towards the door. Maybe I had acted to rashly when I left Lloyd. He was doing better now, so why couldn't I?

I sighed quite loudly, before following Zelos out the door. Maybe I just found it difficult because I was the one that left. I mean, I still cared about him, but since he was the one who got walked out on, maybe it was just easier for him to come to terms with the break in our relationship. Maybe I should stop thinking about this, it's beginning to give me a headache.

Besides, Lloyd was over it, shouldn't I be, too? He had Collette now, and I had Zelos, shouldn't that be enough? Maybe if I didn't feel like it had been a large mistake on my part to just leave him, it would be.

Hearing everyone at the bottom of the steps (my room was on the second floor) I stopped at the top and looked at our small group. Lloyd was talking to Kratos, and Zelos was trying to join the conversation, to no avail. I smiled sadly, before continuing down the stairs.

"_Sheena? Lloyd's not here right now."_

_Dirk said while looking over his work table at me. I grimaced a little, and replied_

"_When do you think he'll be back?"_

_How could I tell Lloyd that he was going to be a father? I could barely imagine Lloyd being one, he was still so…immature. _

"_In an hour, maybe? He's training in the woods somewhere. You could always go and find him."_

_Training. Lloyd just loved it. If he found out I was pregnant, he'd have to stop that. Well, for the most part at least. I knew he'd want to get married, then. He had said as much just a few weeks ago. How would I tell him that for us to be married, he'd have to move to Mizuho? His entire life was here, in Iselia. He had grown up here, his friends and family were here, so what would it do to him to make him move to Mizuho? _

"_Uh, no, I'll just leave him a note."_

_Great, Sheena, now your acting like a child. I walked up the steps to Lloyds bedroom, and looked around for a pen and paper. What was I going to say? 'Sorry Lloyd, I'm pregnant and I think it would have negative effects on you if we started a real family?' Oh, he'd take that well. I finally found the desired objects of my search, and sat down on his bed. He'd want to talk about it, I'm sure. So what would I tell him? _

_What if I didn't tell him anything? What if I just ended it? I could go on living in Mizuho with our child, and he would be free to live his life, train…find someone else. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll leave him alone. He doesn't need this right now, we're both still so young. _

Why did I have to make such a foolish choice?

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Yikes, I am so verrryyy sorry. I've been kind of flooded with homework. Stupid

school…anywho, I'll try to update more, but I won't be able to for the next week, week and half, cause my bro's getting married and such.

Hemila- Rose: . see? Lan's doing alright. Thanks for reviewing!

Sieg15: haha, glad u enjoyed it. Thanks for the review

Fan Fan Girl: thanks so much for reviewing when u did. I actually kind of forgot about my fic (due to school work and such) then I saw your review in my e-mail…I just about had a heart attack. My reaction: 'Oh no, I forgot to update! Ack, it's been more'n three weeks!' So…anywho, thanks for the review!


	21. Confused

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 21 – Confused

(Lan's POV)

Food. Must eat food. Need substance. Groaning just a little, I sat up in the bed I was in. It must've been morning, or close to noon. Light was coming in through the window, which obviously meant it was no longer night time. My stomach growled loudly, so I turned, getting my feet off the bed. Putting one hand on my healing wound, I got my feet on the ground, and winced when I stood up. The room spun, and I had to grip the side of the bed so that I wouldn't fall. How long had I been out?

"Lan, are you sure you should be up?"

I turned my attention towards the door. Kratos was standing there, with a slightly raised eyebrow. I frowned at him a little, and replied

"Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna stay in bed any longer. I need food."

"The doctor will take care of that."

Lloyd stepped into the room from behind Kratos. I frowned a little at my father, before saying

"Well, where's my food then? I'm going to waste away pretty soon."

Lloyd chuckled in a way that gave me the feeling they were going to tell me something I didn't want to hear.

"Lan, the doctor says that it will take a while yet for your wound to fully heal."

So that was it. He was going to tell me I was going to slow them down, wasn't he? I found myself sitting back on the bed, and looking up a Lloyd, still frowning

"So we've decided that you're going to stay here until we've found Colette and Mattrim."

I glared down at the ground, and didn't respond

"We won't be gone long, but we're leaving today."

"Fine."

I bit out. He could just come out and say it, that I was going to be a nuisance.

"Lan, we'll come back as soon as we can."

Lloyd tried to reassure me. I gave him a scowl, then asked

"Where's my food?"

With a sigh, Lloyd muttered that he'd grab it, and left. Kratos stayed behind, and looked at me curiously.

"Lan? You don't have to be so mad at him. It's you fault for getting in her way."

Sighing in resignation, I replied

"I couldn't just let her kill him."

"Even though he would have killed you given the chance?"

"You don't know that for sure."

This time Kratos gave a sigh, and turned around to leave

"If you get a little bored, you might want to go searching for your friend. She looked quite, upset, when she realized what she did."

As he left, I stared surprised at his back. Siena? Of course! This was going to give me the perfect chance to find her, and tell her everything was fine. With her mental state, I wouldn't be surprised if she convinced herself that she'd killed me.

After watching everyone leave through my bedroom window, I grabbed my swords and daggers from on top of the dresser near my bed, walked carefully down the stairs and towards the door. Kratos had left me some Gald, which should help me long enough until I find Siena. Hopefully, they might have left my reihard behind. Now, where to start?

00000

(Siena's POV)

Crap, Crap, oh shit, how I could I have done that? Lan could be anywhere near death, cursing my very existence, and wishing he'd never met me. I collapsed near a tree, leaning against it, and trying desperately not to cry. I was an elf, pure blooded at that, I wasn't supposed to cry. Or have emotions according to my father. I scowled darkly, finding it easier to be angry than being close to panicking. Next time I saw that man, I'd kill him. For sure.

Shit, I can't do that. Lan was…

Stifling back another sob, I brought my knees to my chest. Lan was the first person who actually treated me like an equal, and not some half mad teenager. I rocked back and forth, trying to calm myself down. Raine wasn't with them, so there wasn't anyone who could heal him, right? I didn't know the others very well, so maybe one of them knew some small amount of healing. Desperately hoping it was so, I stood up again, and continued running. I had to go somewhere far, far away from here. Somewhere where I couldn't hurt anyone. Maybe I was mad? Sanity is such a small thing, it's so easy to loose.

"No, I'm not mad, I'm normal, I'm sane."

I had stopped running, and found myself panting for breath, leaning against another tree. Why were there so many trees around here?

"Haha, right, I stab my only friend, sounds like craziness to me."

"_You're my friend, Siena._"

Was I really, Lan? Friends don't stab each other. I clutched my head in both my hands, and let out a moaning sound. I was a horrible, horrible person. Why did he even tolerate me? I was just some giant nuisance to him. Bothersome, insane elf that I was.

"Lan, would you ever forgive me?"

If I ever see him again, maybe I'll ask.

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(Sheena's POV)

I couldn't believe the traitorous thoughts that kept going through my head. I was in love with Zelos now, wasn't I? Why did I keep thinking about Lloyd? Crap, after this is all over, it would probably be best if Zelos and I stayed far away from Lloyd after we were married. I might just fall for him again. But, as I think about it, maybe I never fell out of it?

00000

Soooo, what'd you think? I haven't updated in a while, again. My senior year, too much homework, and then I started watching DNAngel, and a friend lent me Final Fantasy 2, and Chrono Cross, which I'm trying to beat, so I guess I just kind of…forgot about this fic…again. Hmm, I'm gonna see if I can write another update tonight, just to make up for the lack of updates I've been doing. So, hope you enjoyed reading the newest chapter

And thanks to those who reviewed!

JKaitz – I'll get more into how Lloyd took Sheena leaving later on, though, I guess I've mentioned him being upset about it already…I think. Haha, thanks for reviewing!

InuDani – lol, thanks for reviewing for chapter five

Sieg15 – Well, I have an idea on how to make it end with a Shelloyd, but that would mean that a few characters would be very, very, very sad/depressed. Thanks for reviewing!

H2O Athlete - Glad u enjoyed the flashback. I think I'll add another one from Lloyd's POV. Thanks for reviewing!

Fan Fan Girl – Sheena's not acting 'amorously' towards either of them, because she's kind of confused at the moment. Or, at least, that's what I've been trying to get across. Maybe I should work harder on that part…any who, thanks for the review!

Hemila-Rose- 'w00t' you don't by chance read megatokyo? Yay for Largo, and thanks tons for the review!

Haha, I'm always surprised by how many reviews I get. Thanks tons to everyone again! And I apologize greatly for the lack of updates lately.


	22. long time no see

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 22 – Long time no see

(Lan's POV)

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my reihard right where I had left it. Well, not where I had left exactly, but still, it was there, and I was quite relieved. After all, how was I supposed to travel otherwise, with my wound only half healed? Maybe I'd be able to travel slowly, but catch up to Siena? Wherever the heck she went? Argh, this could take me a while. Note to self, create some sort of tracking device to make life easy in the future.

Well, I guess there was one way I could possibly find her. Mom told me never to use them, though. She also told me to be kind to others, and that was before she yelled at Siena and chased her off. So, moral of the story? Parents don't listen to themselves. Alright, now, to see if it will work...I paused for a moment, realizing that if I did, elves from about everywhere would be able to sense their mana. Crud, there goes that idea. Last thing I need is to have Arkus's Elves come after me. Specially since at the moment, I'm alone, and would have a rather hard time defeating even one enemy, in my current state. (Authors note: I know that part might not make any sense, and if it did, yay for you I'm just trying to hint at something, for later chapters…)

Climbing onto my reihard, which wasn't as easy as it was before, I took the controls, lifted it into the air, and began steering it around Flanoir, before deciding to head east, which I assumed to be the direction to my left. I don't have a compass, so it's not like I can just look at the sun and decide.

Now, if I was Siena, where would I go?

(Siena)

I don't know how I got here, but I did. Meltokio, and it just took me just a few days to get there. That, and some boat trips, along with many a running sprints. If I wasn't in shape before, I am now. So, Metltokio is huge. I never realized before just how big it was. Though, the last time I was here, I guess it wasn't for sightseeing. The last time I was here, Lan was there too.

I grimaced, and tugged on one of my ears. _Don't think about him, Siena, you just finally calmed down_ I told myself forcefully. Lan had to be alive, there was no possible way that Lloyd or the others would have let him die. Right? I found myself banging my head against a store's wall, and cursed inwardly. Ack, that would leave a bruise. Must not do that anymore. I smiled slightly, remembering the last time I'd done it, which took my thoughts back to Lan. I cursed loudly, drawing some strange looks, and quickly continued walking. Great, more people who think I'm crazy. Lan didn't, though, I don't think.

Grr, I stalked past a group of teenagers, muttering incoherently to myself. I glared at them, when I saw them staring. Stupid male humans. I shook my fist at them, and continued stalking towards some random direction. My stomach growled, so I decided on food. Food would be good. Now, if only I'd noticed that the human teens were following me…

(Lan's POV)

I tried Asgard, Sybak, and about several other cities, before finally going to Meltokio. It probably wasn't one of my greatest ideas, because Arkus was the king on Tethe' alla. Going to it's main city…I shook my head. Siena was crazy enough to actually go there. Maybe I should have just started off there. I sighed a little, and began asking some of the citizens if they'd seen an elf go by. Some gave me a strange look, and rolled their eyes, one man, though, gave me a small spark of hope

"You looking for that girl?"

I grinned, and replied,

"Yes, do you know where she went?"

One hand on my side, which was still sore, I waited patiently for a reply. The older man sighed loudly, and waved his hand

"She was hitting her head over there a little while ago. Pointy ears, right?"

I gave a nod, and went in the direction he indicated, grinning. That was Siena, all right, who else would bang their heads like that?

"Uh, excuse me sir, there was a girl here a little while ago, banging her head? Do you know where she went?"

I asked the store man eagerly. He was standing in the door way. I was so incredibly relieved that I was so close to find here. The world was a big place, after all, who knew how long it could have taken me?

"Her? She went that way. Is she ill, by chance?"

I grinned a little at the man, and gave a nod

"Just a little, sir."

I was joking, of course. She was as sane as she wanted to be. I went in the direction she was went, feeling a little giddy. She was close, I just knew it!

"You STUPID, FREAKING HUMAN!"

I froze, looking around quickly. That was Siena all right, but where?

"Get away from me, or I'll bloody burn you to a crisp!"

I followed the sound of her voice, and took off at a run, wincing just a little from the pain in my side. I found her in what I assumed to be some sort of city square, surrounded by about five other guys. One of them was leering at her, while two others were making some rather rude coments. I scowled at them, pulled out one of my daggers, and body slammed on the guys that moved toward her.

"Lan!"

Siena nearly shrieked. I spun around, dodging the fist of one of the other guys, and pressing my dagger against his throat threateningly.

"Back off, buddy, I don't want to have to clean my knife again."

The guy's face paled, and he backed away quickly.

"Why you little…!"

Another guy made as if to attack me, but was stopped when Siena threw a fire ball at him. He yelped, and quickly bolted. I glanced back at her, so see that she held another fire ball in each palm, and she was glaring at the other guys. I stood up, tapping the tip of my dagger against my chin. I felt like laughing. I'd never realized how threatening we could look before. I grinned at them when the other four finally followed the first and made a mad dash for it. I gave a quick glance around, people walked by, giving us strange looks.

"You two, your under arrest. Fighting is prohibited in Meltokio."

Siena and I turned toward a knight, and I glared at him

"That was self defence! They attacked her."

The knight shook his head, and replied

"I only saw you attack them."

We were silent for a moment, before Siena decided to put her fireballs to better use, and threw them at the unsuspecting knight. He made a startled sound, and Siena grabbed my hand, dragging me away at a dead run. I ignored the pain in my side, and followed her.

"Did you see the look on that guy's face?"

Siena was nearly jumping up and down with joy. I felt like buckling over, the pain in my side making me a little dizzy.

"Siena? My reihards over there,"

I said while pointing

"we should probably head over there."

Siena turned around towards me, and to my surprise, wrapped her arms around my neck, and nearly choked me in hug. I smiled a little, and returned it.

"Glad to see you too, but I can't breathe."

"Oh! Right."

Siena flushed a little, and let go. She took a step back, and stared at me long and hard.

"Your ok?"

Before I could give her a reply, she promptly pulled my shirt up, to inspect my side. She frowned a little at me, and stated

"There's a bandage."

"Yeah."

I replied. I sat down with a sigh, and she sat down with a loud thud in front of me.

"You're alive."

She stated, still staring at me

"Looks that way."

I replied, giving her a small grin

"Why don't you hate me?"

I sighed, shaking my head and replied

"You're my friend. Friends can make mistakes."

(Siena's POV)

I couldn't help but feel a little sad a the word 'friend'. What was I expecting, something else? I'm glad that he considers me a friend, and overwhelmed with joy that he's alive and breathing.

"Hey Lan, you all right?"

He was looking a little pale, and was breathing a little heavily. He grimaced a little, and replied

"We should get to my reihard. It's getting late."

_It was just past noon, you dolt_ I thought with a frown. I stood up, and held out a hand to help him. He stood up, and we walked towards where ever it is that he parked that large flying machine. I smiled a little though, when I realized he never let go of my hand.

00000

(Raine's POV)

"Is everyone all right?"

I asked, looking around. A moan came from Regal's direction, so I made my towards him. It was a little difficult, because everything was dark in the small dungeon we found ourselves locked in.

"Presea?"

I asked, after finding Regal. I tried some healing on him, and succeeded in taking care of any major wounds. I had to save my strength in case one of the others was hurt as well.

"Genis, where are you?"

I called out to my brother.

"We're over here, Raine. Presea's either unconscious, or…"

He had a slight tone of anxiety in his voice, so I told him to keep talking, and my way over to him with Regal limping behind me. I exhaled slowly, and closed my eyes tightly when I knelt beside Presea. How were we going to get out of this?

00000

dun dun dun…it's a cliffie, ne? Hope you enjoyed the update. I actually finished it! Two in one day, I'm pretty happy about that. It's getting back to the story line, so I'm sorry if it seemed like I was making it go a little fast. Anywho, hope you enjoyed!


	23. they're back

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 23 – they're back

(Raine's POV)

Presea was barely conscious now, and if we didn't get her some serious help soon, the blade she took to her chest just might prove to be fatal. I could heal it well enough every time the thing re-opened, but after the fight we just went through, and healing Regal and Genis best I could, I didn't have enough mana left to do much good for her. There was still no sign of Yuan or Arthur in the dark, dingy cell we were currently locked in, and I'm fairly certain the two were still alive. Perhaps Yuan had transported himself away to get help from Lloyd's groups. Though, I guess that would be too much to hope for. In our current state, none of us could really do anything about trying to escape; and if we did? We'd still have to carry Presea around, and she still had yet to give us any sort of coherent response.

"Raine?"

Genis asked, a little stiffly. I turned my attention towards my brother, still trying to think of a way out of this…situation.

"She's bleeding again."

He sounded as if he was going to start crying. He really did care about her, did he? He used some of his remaining mana to form a small light over her head. She was resting with her head in his lap, so I shifted a little to get a better look at her; she was defiantly looking paler. I placed my hand over the wound, putting more mana into healing her than I should have, but I could keep doing this every five minutes. I needed to rest, or I'd die of mana loss. Not something our straggly group needed right now.

"Raine?"

I was about to snap a reply to leave me alone right now, when I realized the voice wasn't Genis, but Yuan. Surprised, I turned toward the other half elf, eyes wide.

"Where have you been?"

I hissed in an annoyed growl. He gave me an innocent smile, before saying

"I've been looking for you guys. Here."

I could have kissed the guy right then, when he handed me several apple gels, and orange gels.

"Think you can get yourself out of here if I open the door?"

I stopped mid nod, with a glance at Presea. Apple gels weren't enough to help her right now.

"Oh."

He stated, frowning a little. I passed the apple gels to Regal, and asked

"How'd you get in here?"

"The door."

Yuan grinned a little at me, before looking back at Presea.

"I could take her out of here for you, but I can't transport more than one of you. You'd have to take care of yourselves. Think you can do that."

Now I felt like beating the guy to within an inch of his life.

"Yes, we can do that. We'll just need our weapons."

"Oh, those, they're in a chest just outside of this dungeon. They're guarded by three guards though, so be careful."

He couldn't even bring them to us? I'm quite certain he could have defeated three measly guards. I glared at him for a moment, thinking that beating him to within an inch of his life would be a little to merciful. The second I got my staff back…

"I'll inform Lloyd's group of what's going on, and meet out on the outskirts of Meltokio in say, an hour?"

"We're in Meltokio?"

I asked, slightly aghast at this. They must've dragged us half way across Tetha'alla.

"Yeah. So an hour, than? I've still got to find Arthur."

"Then I guess we'll meet out outside of Meltokio."

Yuan moved towards where Genis was sitting with Presea, and reach down to pick her up

"Be careful with her."

Genis warned, shifting his position to allow Yuan to lift her up. With a nod toward Genis, Yuan was swallowed up in mana, as he transported away.

(Lan's POV)

"So, where did the others bugger off to?"

Siena asked me sweetly from behind me on the reihard. I sighed and replied a little sulkily

"They went on without me."

"That's got to piss you off."

I gave a small shrug, and replied,

"It did, at first."

She patted my shoulder as if I was going through some small form of grief. I glanced over my shoulder at her, and she raised her voice saying

"Keep your eyes on the road! With your accident prone skills, I wouldn't be surprised if you drove us off a cliff!"

I exhaled slowly, tempted to remind her that were in the air and not to likely to drive off any cliffs. I was getting a migraine, and wondered if it was a good idea to have found her.

"Lan?"

She asked suddenly, a suspiciously sweet tone in her voice. Not look back at her so as not to be yelled at again, and gave a small grunt to tell her I was listening

"Have you ever been with a girl?"

I nearly crashed the reihard into a tree, and I'm certain my heart stopped.

"Wha-?"

I couldn't get out any sort of proper sounding sentence. Where did that come from?

"Just wondering if you were like your father."

She pinched me in the back of my neck, so I help, and again had to steady the reihard. Maybe she shouldn't ride behind me after all.

"It was just a question, Lan; you don't have to go all mental on me."

Me, going mental? This coming from a girl who bangs her head against walls for fun. I exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself. She was doing it again. Driving me crazy.

"Look, it's Asgard!"

Siena punctuated her sudden reason for any form of enjoyment, by shoving my head in the direction of Asgard, nearly throwing me off the Reihard in the process.

"I can see it!"

I growled back, before landing my reihard in yet another forest, and we climbed off.

"Lan, you're bleeding again."

She told me. I sighed, and said,

"This'll take just a minute."

I turned around while grabbing my bandages from my pack, when Siena just suddenly popped up in front of me, and said

"I'll help!"

Why was she so hyperactive today? Somebody needs to switch to decaf…

"Fine."

I was far to tired to argue with her, so I just sat down, removed my shirt, and began peeling off my bandages. Siena practically slapped my hands away, and replied

"I'll do that. Guys are far to clumsy to do things like this."

This of course coming from the person who'd stabbed me in the first place. I shook my head at her, but let her have her way. I'd never hear the end of it if I argued.

(Lloyd's POV)

"-so judging by the map I received from Arthur, Colette and Matrim should be in this area. The invisible fortress should be just beyond that tree."

Kratos said while pointing off handedly. Zelos raised an eyebrow, looked around at all the other trees around us, and asked

"You want to be a bit more specific, Kratos? I'm seeing a lot of trees."

Kratos scowled at the former chosen, and walked up to the tree he was talking about, and preceded to take his sword out, and put to two long gashes into the trunk of the tree.

"Kratos, what did the tree ever do to you?"

Slightly surprised, I turned to See Yuan standing just behind our group, carrying an unconscious Presea. Kratos rolled his eyes, and replied

"What're you doing here, Yuan?"

His eyes drifted towards Presea for just a moment, before turning towards Yuan again.

"Well, do you think that can wait? I kind of promised Raine and Genis that I'd find you guys and get Presea some help. Raine would have healed her, but seeing as how they're barely getting themselves out of an ill kept cell, still have to get their weapons back, and get out of there, we thought it would be better if I just took Presea here."

Yuan had a small grin on his face, which left when he saw us all giving him really strange looks. He sighed loudly, and said

"Kratos, would you mind trying your hand at healing her?"

Kratos gave a nod and walked over to her quickly, before doing a quick first aid spell. Presea stirred a little, and blinked her eyes open.

"Good, you're awake!"

I was beginning to wonder what was up with Yuan, the guy almost had less of a comprehension of sanity that Siena did.

"Hey, where did Lan go?"

Yuan asked, looking off into the sky somewhere after helping Presea onto her feet. Sheena and Zelos helped over to a tree to sit down, while Kratos and I looked over at Yuan, slightly curious eyebrows raised.

"Why do you ask?"

Yuan raised a finger and pointed

"Because if I'm not mistaken, that's his reihard."

Sheena looked up quickly, her jaw dropping when she saw our son's reihard land not at all to far from where we were.

"What is he doing here? I thought you told him to stay behind in Flanoir?"

Sheena glared at me, like it was all my fault. I grimaced, and replied

"I did."

Just what was that kid up to? I rubbed my face with a hand, feeling a small head ache coming. This had long day written all over it.

"Lloyd, why don't you Zelos and Sheena go find him? We'll stay here with Presea."

Kratos suggested. He looked over at Yuan with a frown, before looking back at me and waiting for a reply

"Sounds good."

I muttered. What was Lan thinking, coming alone all this way?

(Siena's POV)

"So, where would everyone else have gone by now?"

I asked Lan while walking beside him. We just entered Asgard, after re-bandaging his slowly healing wound. Maybe I should knock him out so that his side will have time to heal.

"I'd assume they're looking for Colette and Matrim again."

He replied while looking around

"Maybe we should purchase some more items?"

He said while walking towards a small outdoor shop. I followed, saying that I wanted a new charm.

"Lan!"

We froze when we heard his mother's angry shriek. She actually did shriek. Sounded like a dying bird. I shuddered slightly, before slowly turning around with Lan, who winced a little.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were back in Flanoir!"

'Calm down Sheena, he's alive' I wanted to say, but being the one that almost killed him, I don't think she'd want to hear that from me.

"Uh, hi, mom."

Lan said, wincing when we saw Zelos, Sheena and Lloyd lined up and staring at us. Lloyd raised an eyebrow at us, and asked

"Siena? When did you get back?"  
Sheena rounded on me, glaring and growled

"Why are you back? Haven't you done enough? Lan, get away from her!"

Lan, stepping in front of me, growled back

"She's back because I went out and found her, _mom_."

Sheena scowled at him, and replied

"A lot of good that'll do. Those elves will find us now, because of her."

"Shut up. They won't."

Sheena's jaw dropped a little, and she stared blankly at her son.

"Lan, don't talk like that to your mother."

Zelos said with a frown.

"Why not? Not like she ever talks respectfully to anyone."

Sheena stiffened a little, before hissing

"Siena, if you so much as step out of line again, I'll deal with you myself."

And then she just stalked away. Lan scowled again, Zelos ran after her, and Lloyd looked a little exasperated.

"Let's just go join the others, k?"

Lloyd asked, grinning at us. I gave Lan a nod, and we left Asgard following Lloyd.

00000

soooo, how'd you like it? Hope you liked it.

Thanks to…

Aragornchewi: I'm still debating on whether or not to make this a sheloyd fic. Hopefully I'll be able to make up my mind soon. thanks for the review!

No Name: 2nd, eh? Yay! Thanks for reviewing!


	24. betrayal

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 24 – Betrayal

(Lloyds' POV)

"Presea, you ok?"

The pink haired young woman groaned a little in response, blinking her eyes up at Zelos, slightly annoyed look on her face

"M' tryin' to sleep."

She murmured, closing her eyes again. Zelos grinned, turning his attention to the rest of us, who stood patiently by the door

"You going to be ok here, Presea?"

Sheena asked, a worried tone in her voice. Her gaze shifted from Zelos to me, to Presea, who muttered some incoherent assurance.

"Well, we should get going, then."

I said, looking around at our little group.

"Shouldn't Lan stay behind?"

Sheena asked, taking a quick glance at our son. He'd barely spoken to her since we brought Presea to Flanoir, and the glare he shot her told us he was still mad. Sheena, being the mature ninja she was, didn't understand what he was so upset about, and chose instead to blame the problem on Siena. Siena, in turned, kept close to Lan, and ducked behind him every time Sheena gave her another icy stare.

"Well, Lan's doing fine. Besides, right now, we could use all the help we can get."

Zelos offered carefully, looking like he half expected Sheena to rip his head off. Looking at her though, she just might. Stepping between the two, I asked hastily

"Are we meeting up with the others in Meltokio? Or are we going straight to Colette and Matrim?"

Truth be told, I was rather anxious to find my family, who knew what condition they were in? Colette was far to gentle to try and break out by herself, with Mattrim there… _Breathe in and out, that's it Lloyd, they'll be ok…_Exhaling slowly, I averted my gaze to Yuan, who was now speaking up

"They'll get out of there ok, I'll tell them where you guys are, I'm supposed to meet them about now anyway. You can meet up with them in that invisible fortress."

Before anyone could respond to him, Yuan was surrounded in mana, and he disappeared.

"So, uh, I guess we're going…"

Lan started, a little uncertain

"Yep, now, who remembers the way back?"

I asked, scratching the back of my head nervously.

"Lloyd…"

Sheena hissed, all her pent up wrath suddenly built up, and pointed at me. I winced under her angry glare, before Kratos spoke up, saving me from what promised to be a rather painful…death.

"I'll lead the way."

Kratos headed out the door, and we all followed. I took a last glance at Presea, then closed the door. We went to our reihards, and once again, went to the invisible fortress.

(Raine's POV)

I tapped my foot against the stony ground impatiently, looking around and glaring at our surroundings. Genis grimaced at me, and Regal just sighed again

"Calm down, Raine, Yuan'll be here."

Rounding on him, I growled

"After hearing that, how do you expect me to be calm?"

This was definitely a road block in any plans we had to save Sylvarant from Arkus, and a possible civil war. I cursed loudly, glared at the two men with me, and cursed again. Never had I thought that _he'd_ be behind all this. Escaping from the Meltokio prison was one thing, overhearing what we did was another. At least they hadn't seen us. Which meant that he didn't know we knew what he was up to. I cursed a third time, wincing when I thought of the Princess. She was in more danger, than. She had to be re-located.

"It would seem I'm late."

Yuan said casually, suddenly standing to my left. I nearly hit him with my staff. I really wanted something to hit right now. Something to hit really, _really_ hard.

"Yuan, you being late is small compared to…"

(Lan's POV)

The others seemed to know where we were going, so Siena and I just tagged along behind them. Eventually, we came up to a tree that had long gashes, and everyone stopped walking.

"So, just past this, you'll find it. Be careful."

Kratos said, moving a side to allow us to pass. I frown at him, as Lloyd spoke up

"You're not coming with?"

"No, I've got to meet with Arthur. He was gathering some information for me when I last left him."

Lloyd gave a small nod, accepting a map from Kratos as it was handed to him, and led our party as we walked into enemy territory. Just like last time, once we passed the edge of whatever barrier kept the place invisible, the surrounding area just suddenly came into view, the base was three times the size of the last one, with white buildings that reached into the sky, taller than the castle in Meltokio. Siena gapped at it beside me, and I grinned at her

"Kind of cool, huh?"

I asked. Well, aside from the fact that this place belonged to our enemy, it kind of was.

"Everyone, move!"

Lloyd whispered urgently. Sentry guards could be heard walking towards us, so we quickly moved out of the way, hiding behind the stone wall the surrounded the base. While the two guards talked with each other, we slipped passed them, and into the base. Siena snickered a little, so I grabbed her wrist, whispering

"Quiet, or they'll hear us."

She grinned, though, and replied

"Those guys should be fired. This was too easy."

I frowned a little at her, not knowing what to say. That was true, it was too easy. Far too easy. I followed the others with a tension in my shoulders, wondering if any of them thought so too.

(Lloyd's POV)

"Alright, this makes things a little complicated."

I grimaced at the map Kratos had given me from Arthur, and frowned at our little fork in the road. Left, or right? The map didn't say.

"We could just split into two groups."

Zelos suggested. I frowned at him, and shook my head

"There's only five of us, I don't think we'd fair very well in smaller numbers."

Not to mention that there was only one map, which you couldn't exactly split into two groups.

"Well, let's just go left."

Sheena suggested, pointing towards the left hallway. I shrugged, and replied

"Sure, might as well."

Not like anyone had any other ideas. Leading the way, our group stayed silent as we walked through the strangely quiet hallway. I froze suddenly, glancing back at the others.

"Guys, something's wrong…"

There should be more people. More guards. We should at least have met some sort of resistance by now. I doubted that Arkus would leave one of his invisible fortresses unguarded, knowing that we have found our way to one before. So why would there be such empty hallways?

"Lloyd?"

Sheena asked, her eyes wide as she stared down the hallway in front of me. I turned my head a little, so see three men clad in armor, none of which I recognized, and Matrim stood with them. He stared wide eyed at me,

"Dad…"

One of the men cuffed him across the head, while another one held a blade to my son's throat. I gripped the handles of my swords tightly, glaring at the three. I'd kill them.

"You might want to take your hands away from you swords there, Irving. I wouldn't want to feel threatened."

The man smirked at me while he said it, so I lowered my hands to my side, wishing that they were close enough that I could get to them before they were able to do anything to Matrim.

"Good, now, if you'll all just place your weapons on the ground, and step to the side, we can do this without any bloodshed."

Fuming, I unbuckled my belt that held my swords, and dropped them to the ground. Everyone else behind me followed my example, as I stepped away from my swords.

(Siena's POV)

Lan raised a hand to undo his hidden daggers, but I gave him a quick shake of my head, which he noticed – thanks goodness- and simply dropped his sword to the ground. We stepped away from the weapons, and watched quietly as one of the men walked over to us, and gathered up all the weapons. He looked at me, with a raised eyebrow

"What's an elf doing with a bunch of humans?"

He asked curiously. I shrugged a little in response, not sure if I could say anything and not endanger the boy they held at sword point.

"Bring 'em to the dungeon, we'll take this kid back to his room."

One of the two men who stood about ten feet away ordered the man who stood by us, as they began to leave. I nudged Lan in the shoulder, nodding my head over to the backs of the two men walking away. If Lan could get the one leading the kid, I was certain I could hit the other. Lan got my meaning and grimaced as he slipped a blade out, and threw it at the man I wanted him to, hitting the man directly between his shoulders. I gathered mana, and aimed a fireball at the other man, who turned around looking a little surprised as his companion suddenly fell, nearly landing on Lloyd's kid in the process. Crying out in pain as the fireball hit him, Lan pulled my arm, dragging me out of the way as the third one attacked me with his sword. Lloyd picked up both his blades in a heart beat, and ran forward, as Zelos and Sheena lifted up their weapons, and attacked the third guy.

"Matrim, get back!"

Lloyd ordered the boy, who obeyed his father, and stepped back from them. Lan and I hurried over to the child, and a moment later, the three men were no longer an issue, and Lloyd quickly went over to his youngest son, hugging the kid out of relief.

"Dad…"

The boy began, looking around at us. I was surprised when the boy began to change, transforming into a monster that laughed at Lloyd gleefully.

"You fool."

He hissed, smirking at us each in turn. I gapped at him, what the heck…?

(Lloyd's POV)

Saying I was furious would be putting it lightly. I glared at the monster in front of us. Had they used an exphere to make him look like my son? I can't believe we were almost tricked by this.

"Where are they?"

I demanded coldly, my blades already drawn once again. The monster laughed again, smiling at us.

"If I told you, that'd take all the fun out of it."

"Out of what?"

I growled, my blades shook in my hands, and it took all my will power not to just kill him there.

"You'll see."

The thing smirked again, before turning around to face Sheena, and lunged. They crashed into a wall that buckled, and twisted, opening a door that closed immediately behind them. Cursing loudly, I ran to the wall, Zelos doing the same, as we felt along the wall, trying to find out how to open it up again. With no luck, Zelos and I faced the remaining two members of our party, grim looks on our faces. They knew we were here, so now what?"

(Rain's POV)

"So let me get this straight,"

Yuan was saying, and incredulous look on his face.

"you guys heard Arkus talking to Arthur, in the dungeons?"

I shook my head, glaring at the other half elf, as I clarified

"No, it was on our way out of the castle."

"And they were saying…"

I'd explained it to him several times already, what was so hard to believe about it?

"Arkus was asking if Arthur knew where Lloyd's group was, and Arthur was telling him that he'd given Kratos a partial map of the base where Colette and Matrim are being held. Arkus asked if Arthur had any other appointments with you and Kratos, Arthur said he did, and they went on to talk about everything that Arthur had said to our group."

Yuan exhaled slowly, and said carefully

"Did they mention anything else?"

I shook my head. Arthur was on the side of his father, and was back stabbing us to do it. Now wonder we'd been captured, Arthur probably told where we were going. I scowled inwardly at him. How could we have been stupid enough to believe the guy in the first place? His father was becoming king, which would mean he'd be king next. How could he possibly want to put his cousin, the princess, back in power, when he could take it himself? What was that all about when he said that Arkus killed his mother? Was that a lie too?

"I'd better tell Kratos this. I hope they haven't gone in by now."

Yuan grimaced a little, and said before leaving

"Presea's in Flanoir, go there. I'll try to catch Lloyd and the others."

Yuan left in his typical mana/light show, and I turned my attention to my brother and Regal

"So…guess we're going to Flanoir?"

Genis asked after a moment of silence. I gave a grave nod, and we left Meltokio completely, making sure we weren't being followed. _I hope they're ok…_

(Sheena's POV)

I groaned a little, rubbing my head with a wince. Where was I? It was quite dark, and judging by the breathing sounds coming from my right, I definitely wasn't alone.

"Sheena?"

Surprised, I turned to Colette's shaky voice.

"Colette?"  
She sighed in relief

"I thought it was you. Are you ok?"

I gave a nod, realized she probably couldn't see me, and replied

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"I'm not sure."

She sounded worried, and after I crawled over to her, noticed that Matrim was curled up beside her, fast asleep. This close, I could see them better. Colette looked fine, but stressed.

"Colette, how are you guys doing?"

I checked to see if I had my cards with me, and frowned when I found them gone.

"I think so, yeah. How about Lloyd?"

"He's doing fine."

She sighed in relief, and asked

"They're here, right? Somewhere?"

I gave her a nod, and looked at her curiously when she grimaced.

"It's a trap. I wish you hadn't come."

"Colette, Lloyd loves you two, there's no way any of us would not have come."

Colette gave a small shake of her head, and said

"No, Sheena, they're after _you,_ I wish you hadn't come."

00000

Sooooo…..long wait, I know. I apologize greatly for it, too. I just had a few exams, and then starting the second semester, I've got some annoyed teachers who give way too much homework. Oh, and I started playing Tales of Legendia, so that distracted me too…and guild wars, so I guess I can't blame my lack of updates on my work load from school, huh? I'm so sorry, really, I am.

Anywho, thanks for the many, many reviews!

Hamlord – haha, well, you never know…Colette just might have an accident…. thanks for reviewing

Untitled Sorrow – Hey, great to see u review again! Thanx!

No Name – yeah, I know, I made Yuan a little…loopy…guess I've read too many fics with Yuan like that…thanks for the reviews

Every1zacritic – haha, glad you like my fic . I made this chapter a little longer, since you seemed so earnest that I update. Thanks for reviewing!

MGP – well, I'm kind of stuck with how I'll end it, so I much just do a multiple ending thing. Thanks for reviewing!

Daniel the Dragonfly – I'll make up my pretty quick (I hope) about the whole 'sheloyd' thing. Thank you for the review!

Haha, got a lot of 'sheloyd' requests. Poor Colette, everyone's against her…

Well, I hope you guys like this update, and I'll try to make another one pretty quick.


	25. Mixed Emotions

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 25 – Mixed Emotions

(Sheena's POV)

Horrified, I stared at the blonde in front of me. Where they still after the mana cannon? Why? Arkus already had Tethe'alla, which was still much more developed than Sylvarant. If he wanted to take over the Symphonia, all he'd have to do was start a war.

"W-why?"

I stuttered, utterly confused. Collette gave a small shake of her head, which I could barely see in the dimly lit cell, and said

"I'm not too sure, but it can't be good."

I looked at her son, who was still sleeping, and said slowly

"So that was why they went after you? So that we'd come here?"

She gave a small nod, exhaling slowly. It made sense, in a way. It was smarter than just going after us, and letting us know they were after me. I leaned my back against the cold stone wall, sitting directly beside Collette, and said softly

"I'm sorry, Collette."

She was silent for a moment, then said quietly

"Sheena, I-"

She clamped her jaw shut, and stared at the ground intently. After a moment, she started again

"I'm a horrible person, Sheena."

Taken aback by this, I could just stare at her. How could she think that? She cared about people too much, cared for them more than herself, and she was telling me _she _was a horrible person? What did that make me?

"No Collette, your not."

I stated bluntly, shaking my head at the blonde

"Sheena, you don't understand. I know you still love Lloyd."

My back stiffened, and I had to force myself to meet her gaze when I replied

"I don't. Not anymore. I love Zelos."

She sighed a little, and said

"If you say that enough times, maybe you'll believe it."

"I don't."

My voice was colder than I intended, and Collette answered as if speaking to a child

"I can tell when I see you and Zelos together. You may care for him in some way, but you don't love him. Not like Lloyd."

How could she be telling me this, when she was _married_ to the guy?

"It's hard not love him, isn't it?"

Her voice sounded distant, and I chose not reply. What ever she was getting at, she'd have to explain better.

"You know, I was happy when I found out you left Lloyd. That's why I'm a horrible person. I'm selfish. I didn't encourage him enough to go after you. I'm sure I could have, but, I loved him too, Sheena."

She looked away, unable to meet my gaze. I looked away too, uncomfortable with the subject.

"Can we drop it now, Collette? You're with him now, not me. He's got you and Mattrim, and there's no room in that for me and Lan."

Well, not for me, anyway. I guess that's why I was afraid to let Lan know Lloyd was his father. I'd be the odd one out.

(Lloyd's POV)

We completely wasted the next guards we saw. I was practically seeing red, and the anger I felt was nearly driving me insane. First my wife and son, now Sheena? What the hell was their deal? When I found Arkus, I'd make him regret ever targeting them.

"Hey Lloyd, I think I can sense where Sheena is. It's very faint, but…"

Siena was standing near the back of our group with Lan, and she was staring at something down the hall. Turning towards her, I demanded

"Where?"

Arkus would pay. I'd make sure of it.

(Lan's POV)

I couldn't help but be slightly alarmed at how Lloyd was reacting. Was he even near this mad when they took Collette? Or was it that he just kept loosing people he cared about? Which, I thought with a frown, would imply he still cared about my mother. I glared at the back of his head while he walked – well, more like a half jogged - beside Siena, the two now leading the group. He couldn't still care about my mom, I mean, he got married to Collette. Didn't that mean he was over her?

"…so since she has some elven blood in her, I mean, she can summon, right? Obviously she has even a small trace of elven blood in her, so I can sense that bit of mana from her, cause we're still in the proximity of where she must be."

Siena was explaining to Zelos as we walked. I was now behind the three, Zelos having moved beside Siena. He must've asked her how she could sense my mom.

"Summoners have elven blood?"

I grinned a little, wondering why mom never explained to Zelos about that. I guess since it's hardly traceable, she just never thought it was important. We're pretty much completely human.

"Sure they do. How did you think they could summon?"

Siena glanced back at me, winking. I froze, mid-step. _She couldn't possibly- there was no way that she'd –_ I kept mentally cutting myself off, not sure if I should be horrified or shocked if she knew what I thought she knew. How could she? It was impossible. Right, impossible. Shiiiit…

(Sheena's POV)

"Hey Sheena?"

I looked over at her, not sure if I wanted her to start speaking again. Couldn't she just let it go? I mean I did. Or, at least, I think I did.

"Yeah?"

I answered carefully, uncertain about the worried look on her face.

"When they caught Mattrim and I, I kept thinking 'I have to protect my son' over and over again."

She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. I frowned, of course she would think that. Before I could speak, she continued

"I mean, if I died, who'd look after him?"

I rolled my eyes at her, saying

"Collette, your practically an angel, you won't die, Lloyd won't let you."

She ignored me, saying

"I mean, I know Lloyd would try, but,"

here she paused for a giggle, saying with a grin

"well, Lloyd can't cook very well. I know he'd do his best, but I'd like Matrim to live longer than his ten years, you know?"

I smiled a little as well. She was exaggerating, of course. Lloyd wasn't _that_ bad.

"So Sheena, I want you to promise me something."

She turned completely serious. I don't think I like a serious Collette.

"If anything happens to me, I want your word you'll look after them."

I sat for a moment, staring at her. She couldn't be serious.

"Collette-"

"Your word, Sheena. I want you to treat my son like your own."

I really don't like Collette when she's serious. After a moment, I replied

"Fine. But then you have to look after Lan if anything ever happens to me. Like he's your own."

She smiled, saying like the Collette I knew and was comfortable with:

"Of course!"

We were silent again, and I could make out the sounds of a few men tinkering with the door. It was too much to hope that it was Lloyd and the others, since I was certain it was too soon for that, but I still held my breath till the door swung open. In stepped Arkus himself, with Arthur right beside him. My eyes widened as I stared at the two. _Remember, Sheena, Arthur is supposed to be a spy. Of course Arkus would take him to one of these fortresses. _But it didn't feel right. Something felt…different. Saying to one of the guards that accompanied the two, Arkus said

"Take the summoner and the kid, and follow me."

He left without another word, and Collette's eyes flew to me, fearfully. I gripped her arm, and said in an attempt to calm her

"I'll look after him, Collette, don't worry. I won't let anything happen to him."

She looked a little relieved, but still tense as a guard grabbed the boy, waking him up and nearly dragged him from the cell. Collette was visibly fighting the urge to get up and follow. I stood up when another guard entered, and spared one last glance at Collette before the door was bolted shut. I passed the guard to where Mattrim was, the boy looked somewhere between nervous, and angry. I smiled though, since it was obviously a mix of Lloyd and Collette. I took his arm from the guard, who gave a small grunt. The one behind me took my arm to make sure I followed. Mattrim looked up at me for a moment, then took my hand firmly. It was weird, in a way. Collette and Lloyd's son, and he trusted me. Me the woman who left his father. But I guess if I hadn't, he wouldn't have been born. I grimaced, and went where we were directed.

00000

Let me guess, surprised I updated this soon? Well, I hope you enjoyed it. It's a little shorter than the other chapters, but oh well… I might update again this weeks, since I've gotten into it again. I really want to get to the ending, since I think I've finally decided how it will go. But just so I get your, the reader's, opinion, I'll ask this (even though I've got a feeling what the result will be…)

Should I:

A: Collette and Lloyd ending

B: Sheena and Lloyd ending

Anywho, just leave a review, with your preference, and I'll try to update again quick.

Thanks to those who reviewed:

Lady Valandario: hope this solved that cliffie…I tend to do that sometimes…. thanks for reviewing!

Sieg15: are you talking about when Sheena left him? He just kind of figured she didn't want him. Stupid Lloyd…Well, you might get your wish with a Sheloyd. Thanks for reviewing!

Eternum123: Despite what it must look like with my fic, I'm a Sheloyd supporter. But my fic wouldn't really have much of a story unless I gave it a little twist, 'ne? Thanks for reviewing!

If I ever miss anyone, don't be afraid to tell me, and I'll apologize greatly with the next update .


	26. traitor

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 26 – Traitor

(Siena's POV)

Pointing at the large wooden door in front of me, I frowned slightly.

"This is where I was sensing her earlier, but now she's, gone…"

I said in bewilderment. How did that happen? I couldn't even sense Sheena anymore. Was she dead? That wouldn't be good. The last thing we needed right now was to have Lloyd snap and go crazy. Lloyd visibly twitched at this news, and was about to turn away, when a quiet voice called from within the barred wooden door

"Who's there?"

Lloyd paled, and called

"Colette? Is that you?"

"Lloyd!"

She sounded relieved, and said urgently

"They took Sheena and Mattrim away."

Her distressed tone made us all grimace.

"Back away from the door, Colette. I'm going to break it down."

Lloyd ordered as he unsheathed his swords

"Alright."

Colette's unquestionable faith that he'd free her was astounding. Personally, if someone was going to blast open my cell door, I wouldn't be that calm. Bringing his swords together, then down, he yelled a quick 'demon fang!' that split the door in half. Surprised, we peered through the crack, where Colette soon blinked out at us. Lloyd pulled the half of the door with hinges opening it enough for her to step through. The second she did, he reacted in much the same way he had when we thought we'd found Mattrim. Hugging her, he said

"You're not going to turn into a monster, right, Colette?"

She smiled, despite our situation, and replied

"No."

"Glad to hear it."

Taking her hand, he turned to the rest of us.

"Any ideas where they could be taking Sheena and Mattrim?"

We all gave nugatory shakes of our heads. Hearing someone on the stairway that led to the small prison we were in, we say a figure limp towards us. Lloyd drew his swords once again, and stepped in front of our group.

"Who…"

He trailed off when he realized who it was. Arthur stood there, holding a wounded shoulder. He tried to smile at us, but it turned into a wince as he said

"Seems my father found out I was leaking information to the Renegades."

It was a sad explanation, cause wouldn't he be in a cell too, then? I must've been the only person thinking that way, because Zelos walked over to the guy, and did a small first aid spell. Why are humans so simple? This could be another monster in the form of someone we knew again.

"Arthur, we need your help."

Lloyd was right down to business. Arthur raised an eyebrow, and asked

"With what?"

"We don't know where they would have taken Sheena and Mattrim."

"Oh, right."

Arthur paused for a moment as he thought about it.

"Well, I'd guess that he'd probably take them back to Meltokio."

"Meltokio?"

Zelos asked with a frown

"Why right there? I mean, right where he's got all those citizens? We're pretty well known, you know. The people know we wouldn't do anything to harm this world."

Arthur frowned at him, and gave an irritated grunt.

"Maybe, since that's the case, he wants you to attack the palace. Since the people seem to think so _well_ of you, wouldn't having you do something like that make people think badly of you?"

I narrowed my gaze at the man's back. Just what was he up to?

"Hey, Arthur, I've got a question."

Yuan and Kratos had transported behind the man, glaring at him as he turned around to face them. Yuan was holding his large weapon threateningly, and Kratos's scowl could have woken the dead.

"Did Arkus really kill your mother?"

Arthur flinched under Yuan's gaze, before darting a look to us quickly. Lloyd, the-ever-so-innocent-idiot, spoke up in confusion

"Dad? Yuan? What are you guys doing?"

Without replying, Kratos sent his sword down, flinging a mass of mana at Arkus's son, who dodged it quickly, as he jumped out of harms way.

"This puts a damper on things."

Arthur grinned at us, and shrugged a little.

"Would someone tell me what the hell is going on?"

Lloyd demanded, brandishing his swords once again. He looked about ready to kill whoever spoke first. I tugged on Lan's sleeve, and whispered

"I think your dad's going to need mental help after this."

Lan grinned at me, and replied

"Like you're one to talk, you walking enigma?"

Feigning hurt, I cuffed the back of his head with a fist, and smirked a little

"I'm the good kind of crazy."

Rolling his eyes, his attention went back towards Arthur and his dad, where an argument was now taking place. Well, and argument of swords. When did that happen?

"You'll all have to get out of here now. We'll take care of Arthur. Lloyd!"

Yuan said with a growl, turning to the read clad swordsman. Lloyd shoved Arthur back with his swords, and glared at Yuan

"And go where, Yuan? We still don't know where Sheena and Mattrim are."

"You could check out Meltokio, of course."

Arthur said spitefully.

"I didn't lie about that. I know they're being taken there. It's a trap, though, so do take care of yourselves."

The sarcastic response nearly sent Lloyd into the loony bin.

"Bastard!"

Kratos stopped his son before he could attack the young man again; causing Lloyd to gave his father a dark look.

"Lloyd, let's just go."

Colette said softly. Lloyd looked over at his wife, and finally nodded to the rest of us. I frowned a little thoughtfully. When was it decided that Lloyd would be our leader? Strange, it just kind of turned out that way.

"I think I would have made a great leader, don't you think, Lan?"

I asked him sweetly. Lan shot me a funny look, and followed after the others. I glared at his back, and hissed

"Don't ignore me, Lan."

He did so as we fled the fortress, Kratos and Yuan fighting with Arthur as we left. They were probably going to transport out of there when they finished. I wonder if I could learn that skill. Wow, that'd be fun! My run turned into a skip as we reached our reihards, and I knew by the look on Lan's face that he didn't want to know what I was thinking. I laughed a little, and we headed to Flanoir to regroup.

(Raine's POV)

"Why can't anything just be simple?"

I demanded, glaring at both Regal and Genis as we waited in Presea's room for the others. This whole situation was just beginning to get out of hand. We started out just wanting to save Sheena, and now we were trying to save the world. Again! Thinking back, though, our first journey went sort of like this, too. We started out wanting to save one world, ended up saving two. When people say that history repeats itself, they really weren't lying. Although, if I ever found the moron who said it, I'd kill 'em.

"Raine, would you please calm down?"

My little brother asked from his seat beside Presea's bed. I scowled at him, and replied

"I'll calm down when this whole ordeal is over with!"

Regal sighed loudly, so I turned my glare on him.

"One word, Bryant, one word…"

I waved my staff at him threateningly, and he just shook his head a little, looking back out the window. How could he be so calm right now? Our group was falling to pieces. First Colette and Mattrim are kidnapped, then Presea's wounded quite severely. Now we know that Arthur's been betraying us since we met him. What else? So help me if they come back and someone's died. I shuddered at the thought, grimaced, and sat back down. Maybe I could get one of the two to knock me out? Would definitely make waiting a whole lot more tolerable. Patience must practice patience. I took a few deep breathes, unable to stay calm. They could be running into a trap right now for all we knew. I stood up and began pacing again. Damn it…

The door opened, followed by Lloyd and the others. I gawked at them, completely surprised. How the heck had they finished so quickly? Pausing, I realized that it had been a few hours, so it wasn't at all impossible for them to have finished.

"Lloyd, Arthur is-"

Cutting me off, the twin-bladed swordsman said

"We already know. They got Sheena."

My eyes widened, and a startled Regal and Genis jumped up, and went to stand by me as they took in the tired looking group. Sheena was missing, but Colette stood beside her husband.

"So what happened?"

Lloyd took a deep breath, spared Presea a glance, and then spoke

"We lost Sheena after we thought we'd found Mattrim. It was really a monster who…"

00000

wow, took me a while to do that chapter. I started it like twice, but didn't like how it kept coming out. I know it's a little shorter than the others, but it was this or another cliffie. I figure I've done too many of those already. :P

anywho, so far, it's Sheena – 5, Colette 1.

Unless Colette gets several votes, looks like it's gonna be a sheloyd.

Thanks for reviewing:

Sieg15: Haha, quite the vehement Sheloyd there. Thanks for reviewing!

Lady Valandario: aren't ya glad I didn't make it a cliffie? Thanks for the review!

Daniel the Dragonfly: Haha, happy it's a sheloyd now? Thanks for reviewing!

Eternum123: You might be a little surprised about the twist, but I have been trying to hint at it. Thanks for reviewing!

Aragornchewi: Hope you don't get disappointed when you see how I turn it all towards Sheena. Thanks for the review!

Miror101: So far, looks like you're the only person who likes Colette. Thanks for reviewing!


	27. Summoning

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 27 – Summoning

(Lan's POV)

"Shit. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

Said Raine as she stood up and began pacing the room. Frowning, I glanced at my dad and waited for him to speak. He must've been in his own little world, because his eyes looked a little distant. Sighing, I said

"If we go to Meltokio, we already know it's going to be a trap."

Regal nodded, and answered

"Which means, if we go there, we'll have to be extra careful."

Siena spoke up with one of her usual grins

"I think our odds are pretty good."

Raine shot the elf a glare, and growled

"Pretty good? We better make sure our chances are better than that if we're going to risk our lives. We only get one chance here, you know."

Siena looked a little subdued, and said quietly

"It's not like we have a choice though, right?"

Our group was silent for a moment, because that was very true. We couldn't just leave my mom and half brother there, could we? Of course not, that wasn't even an option.

"But how do we go about doing it?"

Colette asked carefully. We were all quiet again before Zelos spoke up

"We could try my secret passage again like we did last time."

I raised a curious eyebrow.

"And if they know about that place? It's not like nobody else knowsof it."

Genis countered. Zelos shrugged a little, and replied

"You got any better ideas?"

Silence again. I looked at Lloyd, wondering if he would finally speak up. He was staring at the ground, eyebrows narrowed. Colette was looking a little worried, and tugged on his sleeve

"Lloyd? Maybe we should all get some rest. I think we'd be able to form a plan better if we all got some sleep."

He didn't even reply to her, just turned around and slowly trudged from the room. I stared at his back, curiously. He'd been so talkative when we first got here, now it was almost like he'd turned mute. Colette looked sad for a moment, but quickly followed him.

"I guess that's what we're doing now, huh?"

Zelos grumbled, following the couple. I glanced at Siena, who was staring at me intently

"If you think I'm sharing a room with you, Lan, I'll break your neck."

She said it so casually; you'd think she was commenting on the weather.

"I'm not. You're a girl."

Besides, I could seriously picture her coloring on my face while I slept. If we showed up all serious at Meltokio to take on the king, and I was had pictures all over my face and such (she'd probably get carried away and go sneak into the others' rooms and do them too) he'd laugh at us. Wouldn't that just go over well?

"You actually noticed, huh? And here I thought I'd have to start using my 'feminine whiles'."

Siena shot me a cocky grin, before saying to Raine

"I'll share with you, Rainy. This boy here needs to learn to simmer down."

She pulled Raine from the room, leaving me to gawk after her. What? Simmer down? Rainy? Where the hell did that tiny piece of sanity she actually had go?

(Colette's POV)

I smiled sadly at Lloyd, as I closed the door to our room at the inn. He was already removing his swords and getting ready for bed. I wondered briefly if he had been like this when I'd been taken. Was it wrong of me to be jealous of Sheena? Seems that it's harder to get over your first love after all.

I followed Lloyd's example and got ready for bed. Sliding between the blankets beside him, I heard him murmur quietly

"I keep loosing people, Colette."

I rolled onto my side so I was facing him and replied

"It's not your fault, Lloyd. They planned this."

"And I walked right into it, bringing Sheena with us. How could I be so stupid?"

Lloyd must've caught my sad expression, because he grimaced a little. There was an awkward silence, and I said to him

"You're not stupid Lloyd. Now please, just go to sleep. You're not helping anyone if you don't get any rest."

He gave a mute nod, averting his gaze. I turned over, so my back was facing Lloyd, and waited for a while until I could hear his even breathing as he'd finally fallen asleep. He must be stressed. I stared at the wall, unable to sleep. How could I, knowing that my husband still loved Sheena? I almost laughed. Not like I was helping the matter. Turning onto my back, I rested an arm over my face, trying to stifle tears as I wondered how Lloyd would react when he realized my rune crest had been removed.

(Sheena's POV)

"Summon them, now."

I let out an exasperated sigh, and replied

"No."

There was no way I was going to help their mana cannon. Arkus, the man who was currently talking to me, scowled angrily, and snapped

"Look, I don't want to have to hurt the kid, but if you don't do it, we'll have to."

Mattrim was holding onto my side, his eyes staring fearfully at Arkus and the guards who stood by the door.

"What?"

I frowned at him, and glanced down at Mattrim. I promised Colette I would look after him, and there was no possible way I'd go back on my word. Arkus repeated himself, looking extremely annoyed. I grimaced a little, because Arkus was truly expecting more than I could give.

"Well, uh, I can't."

I would if I could have, if only to keep Mattrim safe. I knew what they'd do with the mana cannon, but there was no way I could allow Colette's son to be harmed. He was Lloyd's son too, and I couldn't bear the thought of letting him down. How would I ever face him again?

"What do you mean you can't?"

Arkus demanded furiously. I grimaced, and answered

"I can summon Undine and Volt. That's about it."

Teaching my summoning skills to my pupil had kind of gotten me carried away. Who else would I put in danger now? I cursed silently, half angry with myself, and half relieved.

"I thought you formed Pacts with all of them."

Arkus's eyes now narrowed into angry slits

"I did. But someone else made new pacts with them."

Using what must've been his last reserve of patience, he asked

"And who has pacts with them now?"

I closed my eyes tightly, wondering how I could word this without endangering anyone else. Mattrim looked up at me quietly, a puzzled look on his face.

"A boy from my village."

It was the truth, if not all of it. Arkus stared at me for a minute before turning to his guards and saying

"Get Lexus here, now. I've got a job for him."

The king of Tethe'alla turned to smirk at me, and when a tall blonde young man who was obviously a half elf entered, said to me

"A boy from your village, eh? Care to be more specific? I want a name, or…"

The bastard was already fingering a dagger at his side. I didn't doubt for a minute that he'd actually harm Mattrim if I didn't answer, but how was I supposed to protect Colette's son at the cost of my own? I took a deep breath, mentally praying that Lloyd would protect him, and hesitated only a second before answering

"My son, Lan."

Arkus turned towards the young man Lexus without another word, and began spouting out orders. I closed my eyes tightly, and my knees shook a little and buckled after they left the room. Mattrim wrapped his arms around my neck and said quietly

"My dad'll take care of him, I know he will."

The child couldn't have been aware about how much danger I'd just put my son in, or he probably wouldn't have spoken to me just then. I knew they wouldn't kill Lan, but what would we both do if we were forced to summon the summoning spirits, and the world was forced into chaos? War wasn't exatly something to take lightly. A mana cannon against Sylvarant? They'd be slaughtered.

00000

wow, seems my chapters are getting a little shorter 'n usual, ne? Sorry. I just really wanted to update, and it's getting kind of late for me here. I've got to get some sleep before tomorrow, because me gots work to do. :P:P:P Anywho, hope you guys liked it (even though it's a little short)

Lady Valandario: haha, glad you enjoyed it, sorry about the cliffie? Thanks for reviewing!

Daniel the Dragonfly: Nice enthusiasm. Thanks for the Review!

Anonymous Readergirl: w00t, another Sheloyd-er fan. Thanks for reviewing!

JKaitz: Well, this is that first little bit that's kind of like the 'beginning of the end'. Haha, I'm glad you like Siena's sarcasm. I really try with her. Thanks for Reviewing!

P.S. don't worry, it'll all work out between Sheena and Lloyd, those 'requirements' will just…well, haha, you'll see…

Miori101: Sorry this update had to come after Spring break. I got really caught up with a bunch of anime stuff. Thanks for the review!

DeadlyDragon12: I'm sorry to say this, but so far…odds are in Sheena's favor. Unless I get like a dozen people who insist upon a Colloyd. That'd make my life a little difficult, though, cause I'm already thinking about a sequel (haha, which is kind of a sad thing because I've still gotta finish this one). Thanks for Reviewing!

Thanks tons, people, and, again, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.


	28. Elves and Bounty Hunters

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Chapter 28 – Elves and Bounty Hunters

(Siena's POV)

There we were, standing in front of Meltokio, fully prepared to take the city by storm -I don't mean this literally of course, think of the pedestrians! Even if they are stupid humans…- I'm pretty sure that Lloyd never thought of any way we could actually enter the city without being noticed. Zelos had half joking suggested that we try disguises, but that idea was shot down when Lloyd stated that if we did that, we wouldn't be able to take our weapons with us. We were quietly waiting, and I'd assume from Lloyd's stance, that he seriously was thinking about charging the castle. I glanced at Colette, wondering if she had noticed her husband's increasing worry over Sheena. If I was her, I'd have hit the guy by now, and threatened his life if he ever looked at her again. Frowning, I realized that Colette looked a little pale. I couldn't be sure, but I was almost positive her breathing was a little heavier than the others. We hadn't even walked that far, so why would she be tired? We had used the reihards which were parked safely in a forest near the city.

Presea was with us now, since we had waited for a day to give her more time to heal. Raine had taken away most of the other injuries once Presea had woken up, and was completely out of danger. I frowned, wondering why she didn't just do that before, but then again, from what I heard, Raine hadn't had enough strength to heal Presea entirely, and judging by the way that the pink haired young woman walked, stiff shouldered, with a slight little limp, I'd say she was still sore.

Sighing, and looking up at the sky, I grimaced. I just wanted this to all be over. Was that too much to ask? Shaking my head, because I knew things just can't be that easy, I looked around at our group again. Things really were awfully quiet.

Sitting down near Lan, I found myself wondering what had happened to my father since I had last seen him. Not that I cared, really, but if the guy was causing any havoc for any of the other humans, or if he was still connected to Arkus's whole 'take over the world' thing, I kind of wanted to know. Using my elf senses, I briefly searched for his mana signature trail. The color drained from my face when I realized where he was, and my attention snapped back towards the direction our reihards were. I concentrated more, hoping frantically that I was going insane. Well, more so, maybe?

Slowly, I turned around, staring at the forest which contained our flying machines. Cursing, I took off running. Why now, of all places? How long had they been following us? Lan shouted something behind me, and moments later I could hear them all running. Of all the times he could show up, why'd if have to be now?

(Lloyd's POV)

"Siena, wha'the hell?"

I heard Lan shout. Frowning, my attention turned to my oldest son, who had jumped to his feet and was following Siena. Zelos, Genis, and Raine took off after him.

"Lloyd, what's going on?"

Colette asked, grabbing my arm. I blinked a few times and replied

"I've got no idea."

"We'd better follow."

Regal said with a nod in the direction the others had taken off in. Presea, Regal, Colette and I quickly followed. Siena was leading, apparently. What was wrong with that girl? Was it really that hard to stay sane for a single minute?

"Why are you here?"

Siena demanded once we arrived. We caught up with everyone fairly quickly, and our shock and gawking caught up with them as well. The Elder, Siena's father, stood near our reihards, more than a dozen elves with him. He was silent for a bit as he stared at us. Finally looking at his daughter, he replied

"I believe I should be asking you, shouldn't I?"

He sounded too calm. We all watched Siena, and I'm certain half the group was holding their breath. After the last encounter between the two, everyone was probably a little cautious. I guess they were all just hoping the Elder didn't say anything to make his daughter snap again. Scowling angrily, Siena stalked up to her father, and hissed

"And why the hell would you be asking me that? Unlike you, we've only got good intentions!"

I could have been my eyes, but I seriously thought I saw fire playing across her fingers. If they Elder knew we were here, did Arkus know as well? How were we supposed to save Sheena and Mattrim if they knew exactly where we were? Maybe leaving Siena somewhere else would be a good idea? Or leaving her with her father? Wincing, I realized I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. She tried to kill him last time. Why was she always so hostile towards her father? I understood she had an extreme dislike of the Elf, but there were still family. Looking away momentarily, the Elder replied

"And I understand how you can feel that way."

He was calm, which must have rattled Siena. Her shoulders shook, and Lan walked up to her, prepared to intervene if she attacked, and said softly

"Siena, please, calm down, alright?"

His attention turned towards the Elder, he asked

"Are you here to stop us? Steal our reihards? Why?"

Allowing for another moment of silence, the Elder replied

"Actually, were just waiting for you."

If we could see Siena's face, I'm certain her eyebrows were twitching.

"_Waiting_ for us?"

Siena demanded in disbelief. Not that I could blame her distrust, though. The man had tried to stop us before, so there could be only a single conclusion, right?

"Yes. I've heard about your friend, the summoner. Seems she's not quite…fit…to do the work Arkus needs. Not completely, anyway."

Lan stiffened, his back tense as he asked

"She's ok though, right? My mom's fine?"

The Elf gave a small nod, and offered a bit of a smile

"I've come up with a way to get you all in there, if you'd like."

Siena nearly lunged at him, but Lan quickly blocked her, holding her safely at arms length.

"Siena, hear him out before you attack, ok?"

I frowned at the Elder, asking

"How exactly did you intend on getting us in?"

So help me if he said that we'd pretend to be prisoners. I really doubted that would go over well, I didn't trust the elf enough for that. Nodding towards a few of his elves, his answered

"Arkus is expecting me in less than an hour. I could easily get you all in if you dressed as some of my men."

I raised an eyebrow and asked

"And we should trust you because..?"

Shrugging, he replied

"You've no other way in?"

He was right, of course. As much as I hated to admit it, there really was no other way in. Well, none that wouldn't get us captured or killed. None that I could think of, anyway. We were all silent for a moment, until Siena finally spoke, her voice unusually calm.

"We'll do it, but I want mother's locket and your word as our Elder that you won't betray us in any way."

The Elder frowned, and shook his head

"No, you know that's only for when you-"

"We'll find our own way in, then."

She turned around to face us, and I'm sure everyone else was wondering why she'd want her dead mother's locket. What did that have to do with anything? The oath I'd understand, but a locket? Scowling, her father gave an irritated nod, into a small pouch attached to his belt. Pulling out the necklace, he held it out to his daughter.

"Fine."

He didn't sound too happy about it. As she reached for the locket, her father promised not to betray us in any way, or, as I understood it, he'd lose his position as their leader. Smirking, Siena turned to us, and said with a grin

"Let's suit up, and get going!"

(Lan's POV)

I really couldn't believe we were doing this. Here we were, dressed as elves, helmets on our heads to hide the fact that our ears weren't pointy, randomly stationed beside other elven guards, and the Elder was ever so casually speaking with one of Arkus's guards in front of the Meltokio castle. Seconds later we were being led inside.

"-find that boy, and bring him here."

We all froze a little when we heard Arkus talk. A young man left the throne room as we passed, and he barely spared us a glance as he left. Turning toward us, Siena's father said

"Stay here, I'll be back in an hour."

I wasn't sure if that meant to actually stay there, or if this was him telling us we could go, but he entered the throne room, and we could here Arkus greet him, as the two began to talk. Lloyd gave us all a nod, so we separated ourselves from the elves quietly, and began following my dad. I'm assuming he knew where the dungeon was, since he led us directly there. Colette took a hold of my fathers arm, and said softly

"Lloyd, can we stop for a minute?"

He turned to look at his wife, a little confused. She looked pale, even against the light colors of elven garments she wore. Lloyd looked suddenly worried, and said

"Colette, if we stop now, we might get-"

"Lloyd, Colette's looking pale; maybe she's not feeling well?"

Siena, our ever 'I'll state the obvious' person, voiced what must've been everyone's concern. Lloyd blinked. Had he really not noticed Colette's slowly weakening state? How could he be so worried about my mom that he ignored his own wife?

"It's sad, really, isn't it? I didn't think my job would be this easy."

Our attention was immediately riveted towards a young man who stood just a little ways off from us. He was grinning, with his arms folded across his chest.

"You're her son, right? Sheena's?"

He was looking directly at me. I glanced at my father a little nervously, and gave a shake of my head

"No…"

Grinning, the young man replied

"I'll take that as a yes. I'm Lexus, the resident Bounty Hunter. I've been hired to seek you out, and bring you here. You save me most of the trouble already."

Confused, my father asked

"Why would you be sent after Lan?"

I winced, and coughed a little. Maybe I should have told them sooner? Glancing at Siena, I wondered if she would get mad at me for keeping that kind of secret. Glaring at me, she pointed an accusing finger and saying

"You're not Lan, are you? You're an ex-ax-murderer, who came and took his place!"

One hand on her face, she said sadly

"Why, oh why did I not notice before? He was showing all the signs…"

"Siena? A moment a saneness, that's all I ask. Just one minute…"

Lloyd looked like he was beginning to get a head ache. Curiously, I asked Siena

"What signs?"

She paused thoughtfully, and looked at her palm. She answered while checking things off an imaginary list that seemed to be on her hand.

"First, there was all the staring off into space. Second, the fascination you have with sharp pointy objects. Seriously, Lan, do you really need all those daggers, and _two_ swords? Thirdly-"

"_Siena_!"

My father growled, glaring at her. She clamped her mouth shut, and squeaked

"I was wrong, it's him!"

She was pointing at him, eyes wide. Lexus, the young bounty hunter supposedly after me, looked at us strangely, and coughed loud enough to get our attention

"As I was saying. I'm here to bring Lan to Arkus. Now, if you'd be so kind as-"

"Quiet, you!"

Siena snapped at him. Lexus blinked at her in confusion, and placed on hand on his sword.

"I'll be quiet if I damn well want to be, girl."

With a gasp, a horrified Siena asked

"How can speak like that to a lady?"

I'm certain the veins in his head were throbbing, so to save the poor bounty hunter from any further argument with Siena, my father asked

"What would Arkus want with Lan?"

Lexus raised an eyebrow, and asked

"You don't know?"

Grinning when he was given confused stares, he said

"Sheena can't summon all the Summoning Spirits she used to. Seems Lan here can summon the rest."

00000

Soooo…yeah, I guess this chapter took a while. Sorry 'bout that. My internet was down for a while, and I had a bit of catching up to do on some stuff before I finished this chapter. Also, report cards are coming up, so there was school work too. Oh, and for anyone who's ever told Geography is an easy class, don't believe them. It's a lie. A really, really, big lie. In my school, at least. The teacher assigns twice the amount of homework as my other classes…any who, I'll quit complaining about that. I was really surprised with the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter. Wow, it's such a great feeling when you get that many positive reviews. I tried to make this one longer than the last one for you guys, to sort of make up for my lack of updating. Hope I did ok with that.

Thanks to those who reviewed:

Hawthorne Heights: So far, it looks like a Sheloyd. Hope this chapter was long enough for your enjoyment, thanks for reviewing!

Miori101: I'm trying to do longer chapters now, so that I can finish the fic sooner. Thanks for reviewing!

Daniel the Dragonfly: Haha, thanks for enthusiasm. Thanks for the review!

Shoutenryu: w00t, I've got a devoted fan! Thanks for reviewing!

Ark Navy: Sorry about the way I do my dialogue thing. Haha, guess I never changed that, ne? Glad you liked that little 'catching flies' bit. Oh, and I just thought I'd tell you a little about Siena. She's a self insertion, character. I kind of made her up with the intention of making her a polar opposite of Lan. Ex. He's always wanted to meet his father, she hates hers, he's sane, she's…not so much. Thanks for your reviews, I enjoyed them muchly

Joshua Jehanna: Haha, I know what you mean with school and stuff. I shake my fists at them daily. I'm glad you like Siena; she's kind of supposed to be an attempt at comedy relief. Thanks for reviewing!

P.S. I'd like to also thank those who reviewed for my oneshot 'I'm Not Ready':Miori101, JKaitz, Sieg15, and Amy. Thank you so much for the reviews!


	29. Lan Summons

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Authors Note: I'm so, so, sooo sorry I haven't updated in a while. This chapter is kind of short, but I just wanted to post something to let you guys know I was still writing it. This next part has kind of been giving me a hard time. Anywho, here's the next part, sorry it's short. After this, there's going to be just a few more chapters (longer, of course) and then an epilogue. So, it's getting to the end.

Chapter 29 – Summoning

(Siena's POV)

"I think I speak for the rest of us when I say you're completely, totally, and indisputably insane."

I rolled my eyes at the bounty hunter. Lan, a summoner? That's like saying I was a half elf. Lan began to fidget a little, as the others all stared wide eyed at him.

"When did that happen? I thought Sheena was the only one who could summon."

Zelos asked, looking the most confused out of everyone there. Lan shuffled his feet a little, as he slowly edged away from the group.

"I suppose it would make sense. He is her son, after all."

Raine said logically. She had her 'teacher' voice working. I stared at Lan for a moment. No way…he would have told us, right? Shit, was I half elf, then?

"Lan, is that true?"

I finally asked, trying to search his face for an answer when he remained silent. Lexus sighed loudly, saying with a grin

"I'm surprised you didn't tell them. Those summoning spirits could have come in handy quite a few times by now, ne?"

Lan shot a glare at the Bounty Hunter, and growled

"My mom told me not to."

I walked over to Lan, and tugged at his sleeve

"How come?"

Why would he look so guilty if he hadn't done anything wrong? Argh, way to make life easy, Lan.

"Doesn't really matter now, does it? I've been hired to bring him to Arkus."

I stepped in front of Lan, asking

"Does it count when we do most the work for you?"

The bounty hunter gave a small shrug, saying

"Either way works, really."

"You're lazy."

"Shut up."

"You first."

Lexus scowled at me, so I grinned back at him, trying my best to summon up an innocent smile. Wow, this guy was entertaining. I especially enjoyed that funny vein that appeared on his forehead. Perhaps it meant he was angry? I had the sudden urge to poke his forehead with one of Lan's daggers. Lexus's scowl continued, which I'm certain was intended to either a) turn me into goo, b) burn me to ashes on the spot, or c) give me a horrible, horrible death, bring me back to life, and kill me again slowly. I grinned at him, the angry vein forgotten. It's not the first time I've been given that look. I wonder why?

"Lexus? What the hell is going on in here?"

All eyes darted towards the door, where Arkus was now standing, staring wide eyed at us. Picture a pin dropping, and the sound of it echoing. Everyone seemed to just go mute.

"Well…"

I began, one hand scratching the back of my head a little nervously. Silence always did make me a little jittery.

"…this is awkward."

I saw Lan give a small nod in agreement. Arkus continued to stare at us, as if he thought that looking away would make us all disappear. Slowly, turning his attention towards Lexus, he said

"That was fast."

Blinking at us again, he added

"I didn't ask for them all, though."

Lexus shrugged, saying

"Either way, I expect to get paid."

Lloyd, who finally found his voice, demanded

"Where's Sheena and Mattrim?"

Arkus turned his attention towards the swordsman, an almost bored look on his face.

"I highly doubt that will matter to you soon."

Turning towards the door, Arkus called

"Arthur, see that they're taken care of."

As if we weren't worth the effort it would take for him to do it himself. Arthur entered the room, blinking at us all before calling back for some guards. Seems we just surprise everyone today, huh?

Wait a sec…Arthur? Here? I could have sworn we had left him fighting with Kratos and Yuan. How could he still be _alive_? Did anyone else see a problem with this? Looking around at the group, apparently not. Wait, no, Raine did, I think, since she was staring at him quizzically. Yay, I'm not the only one. Paranoia all around!

(Lan's POV)

Slightly relieved that the attention had been diverted away from me, I sighed a little, and looked around at our group, wondering what we were going to do now. Keeping in mind, of course, that our little 'surprise attack' has gone completely out the window, we're right in the center of our 'enemy's base' and to make things better, they knew we were here.

"Hey, uh, Lan?"

Siena was tugging at my sleeve, and switching my attention to her, saw her looking at me curiously, one finger touching her lower lip, almost thoughtfully.

"Yeah?"

I could hear Arthur drawing his sword, and glanced up at him automatically. As expected, he was now holding his sword in one hand, smirking at us as if he had already won.

"Lan, eyes over here, I'm talking."  
Siena demanded my attention again with a pinch to my elbow. Yelping a little, and hissed

"Siena, can't you see we're kind-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Our lives are in danger, whatever shall we do."

She rolled her eyes, an annoyed glare shooting towards Arthur, was now in a stance that looked like he was ready to attack. Lloyd also had his swords drawn, a no-nonsense look on his face.

"Anyways, like I was saying. Since we all know about you're whole summoning thing, can't you use 'em now?"

I stared at her blankly, my jaw working several times. That was all very true. So, I was left with a simple question. Which Spirit should I summon? All we needed was something that would distract Arthur, and give us time to escape, or to run further into the castle, in a vain attempt to find my mom and half brother. So, before my dad can attack Arthur –which looks like he's going to any second- I did as my mom taught me, and began consentrating, a magic circle appeared underneath me, and I spoke softly, the words my mother taught me

"I call upon the heavenly messangers; I summon thee, come, Sylph!"

The three appeared, laughing slightly, while looking to me for orders I simply pointed towards Arthur, with the order to attack.

000000

Gomen! So yeah, It's been almost four months since I've updated this, which gives me the sudden urge to bang my head up against my desk. I'll post again in the beginning of September, since I've gotta work six days a week for the next little while, and then I'm sewing my cosplay costume for an anime convention I'm going too at the end of Aug. Gah, I'm being Uotani from furuba, wearing that school uniform and her awesome long jacket thing. Argh, that has nothing to do with anything, right? I'm so, so, sooooooo sorry it's taken me this long to update, and that the chapter isn't even very long. I had originally intended to do the next chapter with this one too, and then have just two more chapters and then an epiloge, but since I shortened this one, it'll probably be about three more longer chapters, and then an epiloge. So, just be patient with me for a little while longer. I'm going to finish this thing, I promise.

Ooooh, and on another note, have you guys heard about the TOS OVA? It's official, now, they're actually making it. W00t!

So yeah, and thanks to those who reviewed:

Pirates and Rum: yay, someone who agrees with me! Geography is teh 3vil. Thanks for reviewing! Oooh, and judging from your name thing, are you, by chance, a pirates of the Caribbean fan?

Daniel the Dragonfly: haha, the rest is on it's way. Slowly, but it's definatly coming. Thanks for the review!

Eternum123: That's so true. I almost wish Colette could have had some sort of mean streak, that like pops out when she's tired or something. Thanks for reviewing!

Miori101: If you sat at your computer waiting for an update, you'd have been waiting for a while. School finally did something right, apparently. And sorry for the long wait. Thanks for the review!

Ark Navy: I've got a few friends who actually asked me that. My level and weird and Siena's, are just two completely different things. Thanks for reviewing!

Shoutenryu: haha, yay, I'm happy to have a fan! I wish I could give you pocky or something. Thanx for the review!

Kris: Wow, you know, I realized after your review that I didn't, so I went back and added one. Thanks for the review!

Sunfrost: w00t, yay, I'm glad you like Siena. I was actually a little worried people would hate her. Kind of 'over board' type of character, I think, but I have fun writing her. Thanks for reviewing

TK: YAY, I FELL HONORED! And now that you mention it, 'sheloyd' does sound kind of strange. She-Lloyd. It kind of sounds like Lloyd's a chick. Or that he has an alternate personality running around, who's actually a female. Anywho, changing the topic from that strange, creepy image, thanks for the review!

And I'd like to add another thanks to Abu Ninja14856 for reviewing to 'I'm Not Ready'

So yeah, it'll most likely be a Sheloyd now. But for all of you who want a Colloyd, I could always write an alternate ending, if you want. Just to keep everyone happy.

Thanks so much for the reviews!


	30. The Void

Tales of a Journey

By: Rogue White Dragon (aka Dragoness)

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Authors Note: I tried using proper grammar for conversational stuff in this time, so the format may look a little different from previous chapters. Also, I'll be switching between character POV's more often in this one than I usually do.

Chapter 30 – The Void

(Sheena's POV)

"Miss Sheena?" Mattrim tried to get my attention, while standing near our cell door. The one we were currently in wasn't like the one they'd locked us in before, but reminded me of a jail cell; bars on three sides, and a brick wall on the fourth, where a small window was placed near the ceiling. Grimacing a little, I sat down on the only piece of furniture in the room, a short wooden bed in one corner, and switched my gaze from the window to Colette's son. "Do you have a hair pin?" I frowned at him, one hand reaching up to touch my hair, where I plucked one out and tossed it to him.

Apparently our cell had been specially built to hold magic users, anyone who could call on any form of mana to bust down the door. In other words: No summoning. If I could have, I'd have summoned Volt to get us out of here, but the bars of the cell, and the bricks of the only solid wall, were inconveniently covered in rune carvings, and electrical fields that strangely reminded me of magi technology, would have sucked the mana out of anything I tried to form. Summoning Spirits included. I hadn't believed the guards when they'd warned me about it, but after a short attempt at summoning, found myself exhausted, and needing a rest. Sighing, I looked over at Mattrim, only to find him reaching his arms through the bars, and trying to reach something by the door that I couldn't see. Frowning, I asked

"Mattrim, what do you think you're doing?" The boy looked over at me, and giving me a smile I swear he got from his mother, replied

"I helped Grandpa made doors like these before." It took me only a few seconds to realize the boy wasn't talking about Kratos, but of the dwarven blacksmith, Dirk. Slowing rising to my feet, I took a few steps closer, to try and get a better look at what he was doing, and soon found myself grinning. The child had more of Lloyd in him that his mother after all. Using the hair pin I'd given him, he was picking the lock. A tactic I realized I should have thought of first, rather than the ten year old boy, and one our captors should have been prepared for. A few seconds later, I heard a small clinking sound, and the child gently pushed the door open, turned to me sheepishly, and said "I'm sorry, I broke it." And held out the hair pin for me to see.

"It's alright." I discarded the thin object, took the boys hand, and headed out of the cell. We had to find a way out of here, before the guards realized we were gone.

(Siena's POV)

"Siena, I swear, if you don't stop humming, I'll…" Lan was glaring at me, and after receiving and equally venomous glare from his soon-to-be-step-father, I stopped my humming, and began to whistle.

"Lan, knock her out or something." Zelos suggested, not even glancing in my direction. I let out a small yelp when I saw a dagger materialize in Lan's hand, held so that he could swing the hilt at my head. He wouldn't really do that, would he? Another yelp and I was ducking his half hearted swing.

"Siena, we're all a little nervous here, could you just keep it down?" I grimaced a little, feeling slightly subdued, and gave him a mute nod. Right, we were trying to find Sheena and Mattrim. I heard a cough from behind me, and slowed my walking so that I was next to Colette. The blonde woman looked pale and sickly.

"Colette, are you, uh, alright?" I asked curiously, only to have her smile at me, and give a silent nod, saying

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." The smile seemed too forced, and with her face that pale, I didn't quite believe her. Instead of badgering her with questions, though, I turned to the young man who walked at the back of our group, frowning at him.

"Why are you still following us?" Lexus shrugged, just a slight movement of his shoulders, as he replied

"I'm being paid for my assistance." Ugh, Zelos, you bargaining idiot. After we had left Sylph to deal with Arthur, Lexus had followed us, saying that he wouldn't leave until he'd delivered Lan to Arkus. Zelos had made an offer to match whatever he was being paid, if he helped us in our search. So far, he'd barely done a thing. Unless, of course, you count his little discussion with some of the guards we had run into, claiming that he was taking us to Arkus.

"Then why aren't you leading dir-" Colette took my arm in one hand, and said firmly

"He said all he knew was that they were in a different dungeon from before, so leave him alone." Her tone was almost telling me to 'shut up, you're just making things difficult'. I then felt Lan grab my other arm, and I was nearly passed up our small group, where Lan dragged me to the front. Grumbling to myself irritably, I stated flatly

"We've been here before. We're going in circles." I had the sudden, uncontrollable urge to rip my hair out. But, since I'm a girl an all, and we all know how long it takes for said hair to grow back, I settle for Lan's. He made a startled sound in his throat, as I pulled his hair, and pried my fingers loose. Smiling innocently, I skipped away from him a few steps, only to bump into someone, who hadn't been looking where they were going. Looking up, I stared blankly, before jumping back a little, pointing wide eyed, and saying "Lan, one of those creepy dudes totally took your mom's form! I mean, look at her! And she's got Mattrim with her." Darkening my tone, I added "It's all too…coincidental." I was cuffed on the back of my head as Lan passed me, and asked

"Mom? How'd you-" He was interrupted when Sheena ever-so-kindly shoved Mattrim at us, turned around, and proceeded to slam her palm into a guard's nose, who had apparently been following the two. The man spluttered a curse, and swung with his spear at her head. Swiftly, the woman dodged it, and Lan, another one of his daggers in hand, flung the blade at the opposing guard chest. I turned Mattrim around, pushing him towards his mother as blood oozed from the man's wound. Colette's arms wrapped around her child, even as Sheena and Lan moved the dying man out of the hall way. Lan turned to us, looking a little sick as he wiped his dagger clean on his pants with a grimace, and said

"We'd better hurry up and find my dad." And, since our group had been split in two, we began to search for our other half.

(Lloyd's POV)

"Remind me again which idiot decided to send Lexus with the others?" Genis grumbled irritably, shooting an annoyed glance at me. I rolled my eyes, and said

"He gave us directions to where Arkus is. I sent him with the others so that they wouldn't get lost." Made sense to me, at least.

"Lloyd, you just sent your wife, eldest son and the others with a man who could potentially back stab them. You do realize that Lexus was hired to-"

"Genis, drop it." I looked back at the slip of paper that Lexus had hurriedly written directions on, and looked at the stair cases in front of us. Each went in a different direction, leading to different rooms. According to Lexus, to get to Arkus, we'd need to go through a hidden passage on the other side of his royal chambers. I lead the way up the stairs on the right, and the others followed behind me.

"Say, Lloyd? What's our battle plan? Just go in there and start attacking, or..?" Genis was speaking up once again, and I stopped at the top of the stairs, where two guards stood on either side of the door to Arkus's room just a few meters across from me. Damn.

Unsheathing my swords, I launched myself at the man on the left, while Presea and Regal went after the second, who had turned to attack me from behind after I'd rammed his companion to the side, I stopped myself from delivering a killing blow, and settled with ramming the hilt of my sword against his head, knocking off the protective metal helmet, and swinging my second hilt at his now exposed temple. He dropped with an unconscious thud, echoed shortly after by the second guard who Regal was now dragging out of the doorway. I gave the older man a nod, and threw myself into the room as he opened the door. My swords ready to attack or defend, if the room was occupied. Nothing moved, and the chamber remained silent as Genis and the others all filed into the room. Raine stood the my left, as she asked

"Where's the door?" I sheathed one sword so I could take out the directions again, and replied while pointing my sword towards the huge bed planted on the far right side, a large painting of Meltokio to its left.

"Uh, 'Between the bed and portrait'." I read off the slip of paper. Raine nodded, and instantly went to investigate. Seconds later, the wall opened up as a section large enough to walkthrough slid to the left.

"Who wants to go first?" Genis asked curiously, looking at the dark passageway with a frown. Choosing not to answer him, I walked past the mage as I once again drew my other sword.

"…good. Now, send the boy to-" After a fairly long walk down the hidden passage which possessed stairs that seemed to keep switching direction, we walked into large room that reminded me of Kvar's control room in the ranch we destroyed near Luin all those years ago. Arkus stood in front of a big 3D computer screen in the center of the room, speaking to a straggly looking man in a white coat, whose eyes shifted to us and widened

"Intruders!" He pointed at us accusingly, and Arkus swung around, eyebrows narrowed furiously. Without allowing him to speak, I began making my way across the room while saying

"We're ending things now, Arkus." The older man scowled, and replied

"I've come too far to let people like you stop me now." Then, his eyes still on me, he pressed a few keys of the computer behind him and red lights began to flash on the computer screen. Seconds later, a door opened on the other side of the room, and a dozen Meltokio soldiers came piling into the room.

(Siena's POV)

"I feel like a secret agent or something." I slipped on arm around Lan's, grinning mischievously as we followed Lexus. We were no on our way to catch up with the others, our present Bounty Hunter leading the way. The half elf shot me a look that said 'shut it, or I'll make it so you never talk again'. Very skilled at glares, he is. Innocently, I looked again at Lan, and asked "Don't you think so? Infiltrating enemy territory, taking them by surprise, saving the damsel in distress-" this got a sputtered denial from Sheena "-and now we're off the fight the 'Evil Dude' and save the world." I snickered a little, feeling suddenly very giddy. Soon, this would all be over, and we could go back to our normal lives. Granted, I'm not saying that our lives were all normal to begin with, but it will be more-so that traveling around in flying machines, while trying to stop the new King of Tethe'alla from destroying Sylvarant. Or taking it over, which ever came first.

"'Evil Dude'?" Lan repeated curiously, frowning at me a little. I gave a nod, and replied

"Yeah, I've decided I'm giving everyone titles." He gave me a blank stare, shook his head, his free hand running through his hair in exasperation.

"Do I want to know?" He asked finally. Lexus lead us through the hallway, and stopped in front of two flights of stairs. I gave Lan a nod, and replied

"Of course you do. It's curiosity, you know. I mean, all humans suffer from it…" He rolled his eyes, and I continued. "Anyway, I'm calling your dad 'Ignorant Bastard', your mom's 'Scary Lady With Pointy Hair'-" again, another strangled sound from Sheena, but she didn't interrupt me as I went on listing everyone's new tittles "-Zelos is 'Unfortunate'-"

"Hey!" The red haired former chosen broke in, his eyes wide. "Why am I 'Unfortunate'?" I looked him up and down, and replied

"Because you have red hair, and you wear pink." Seriously, enough said? "Colette is 'Woman Going to Use Frying Pan'-"

"Where'd that come from?" Lan interrupted curiously. I frowned at him a little, and glanced at Colette. She too wore a curious expression, and after a moment of hesitation, I replied

"Don't question the 'Beautiful Elf Maiden'." I told him firmly. He shook his head again, and as we started up the stairs (Lexus was either taking his time, or he forgot where we were going. Note to self: Shake fist at him later) Lan asked

"What about me?" I raised and eyebrow innocently, said confidently

"'Closet Pervert'." His eyes went wide, and his jaw hung open.

"E-excuse me?"

"C-L-O-S-E-"

"I heard you the first time"

"They why'd you ask?" He groaned loudly, and said

"Not that. How come I get that title?" I touched my chin in deep concentration, and replied

"Because one of these days, I do believe you're going to show us your true colors, and try to peek-"

"We're here." Lexus spared an uninterested glance at the unconscious guards on either side of the doorway, and lead us into the King's Bedroom. I was a little disappointed that the 'secret passageway' door was already open, since I was kind of looking forward to searching the room for it myself.

"So we just go through there?" Zelos asked, eyeing the dark opening in the wall suspiciously. Sheena turned to Colette and Mattrim, and said

"Maybe you two should stay here. There's going to be fighting, and I don't think you two should get involved." Colette, to our small groups surprise, straightened her shoulders, narrowed her eyes, and said coldly

"I'm going too." I'm pretty sure hell just froze over. De-thawed, and then froze again.

(Lloyd's POV)

My sword pierced the armor of a soldier who was chosen to get between Arkus and myself. I flung the man to side using my sword as leverage, and once again began to attack the man who had dared to threaten my family. The man who tried to take them away from me. Arkus, the one who abducted Sheena, not once, but twice.

Dodging Arkus's blade, I rammed my shoulder into his chest while growling "Beast!" and sent the older man sprawling to the ground. I stalked towards him again, eyes blazing. He was on his feet again, and instead of waiting for me to get to him, slashed his sword down at the ground and sent a string of mana at me in the form of icicles. I threw myself out of the way, rolled in the process and landed neatly on my feet again in time to pull my swords up to block his sword as he went for my throat. My swords formed and 'X' as I deflected the blow and forced him backwards. With a growl he pushed back, and I was forced to jump backwards as he tried to knee me in the stomach. I launched another assault at him, one sword going for his stomach while holding the other back a moment, to block his sword after he moved my first blade harmlessly away from his abdomen in a twist of his sword that ended up aimed for my chest.

(Lan's POV)

The passage way had been longer than I thought it would be. Once we finally exited the dark winding staircase, I had to blink a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light of the room we now found ourselves in. Taking in the situation, my hands automatically went my swords when I heard my mother say

"Lan, I want you and Siena to stay with Colette and Mattrim." As much as I wanted to argue, I found I couldn't as Siena took my hand in hers, and slipped my long dagger out of its sheath near one of my twin blades with her free hand.

"Sheena, take this. Martial arts aren't exactly going to do much good." Siena tossed the weapon to my mom, and I found myself wanting to join in the fight even more. Surely I was more suited to fighting right now with my swords, than my mother with a lone dagger?

"Mom, I don't think-" She looked at me sternly, and said

"Lan, please, don't argue with me. I don't want you getting hurt." Then, almost hesitantly, she said to Siena "Watch him while I'm gone, K?" Siena answered with a nod, her hand tightening around mine. Then I shrugged to myself. It didn't look like they need much help anyways. Sheena and Zelos ran over to Genis, Regal, Presea and Raine, who were all fighting a soldier or two, while Colette, Mattrim, Lexus, Siena and I all stayed near the doorway we had just entered from. I turned my attention to where my father was fighting Arkus, and stared in awe as both men continued to dodge and attack each other. Their movements a blur, until their swords locked, and Arkus sent one of Lloyd's swords flying, leaving him with only one blade as he was shoved back. Stumbling, Lloyd cursed loudly. Arkus took the opportunity to slash at the younger man. My dad, who couldn't move out of the way in time, received a long gash from his right shoulder to his left hip. I head Colette let out a gasp, staring at her husband in horror. I moved to intervene before Arkus could deliver another blow, only to have Siena wrap her arms around my waist from behind, and pull back harshly and said

"Lan, _no_." My gaze darted back to Arkus and Lloyd, and I watched in a horrified fascination as Arkus slammed the flat of his sword against my dad's shoulder, forcing his knees to buckle. Drawing his sword back, and saying something I couldn't quite make out, he aimed his sword above my father's head. Lloyd reacted faster than Arkus thought he would have, and since both his hands held his swords above his head, he left his stomach open to attack. Using his remaining sword, Lloyd used both hands as he rammed the steel into the man's exposes and foolishly unprotected stomach. Stunned, Arkus stumbled back a few steps, and Lloyd withdrew his weapon. Slowly standing up, Lloyd watched the older man fall, glared at him, then made his way towards the others.

I glanced back at Colette and Mattrim while I pried Siena's arms off of me. Was it over now, then?

(Lloyd's POV)

I didn't even bother finishing my painful walk towards the others, since they had already taken care of Arkus's men. I stood silently, looking them all over before I smiled faintly. Sheena was with them. Looking around the room, I spotted Colette and Mattrim standing with Siena and Lan. Good. Everyone was ok. I let out a long breath, sighing in relief.

"Lloyd, you ok?" The professor approached me, her staff raised as she began to heal the gash across my chest. Wincing, I replied

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore." I could instantly feel warmth spread to my wound, as the skin closed and stopped bleeding.

"Don't…celebrate so early…fools…" My back stiffened as I turned around, eyes wide and darting to Arkus. The man should have been dead, yet there he stood: his sword poised in front of him as he began chanting a spell. How he could use magic was beyond me, since he was human. Then again, Zelos could use spells and he was human, so I guess it wasn't too impossible for Arkus to do it as well. My swords cleared their sheaths as I began to stalk towards him, my pace getting faster with each step. Runes appeared beneath his feet, and his eyes flashed with hatred as he glared at me.

"If I'm going to…die…" The man took a shuddering breath, then continued "…I'm not dying…alone." Still a fair distance from him, I turned my fast walk into a run. I moved my swords so that I could easily get his wounded gut, making a mental note to actually make sure he was dead this time. Before I reached him, I saw him smirk, and then he shifted his weight, turned, and yelled

"Lightning!" My swords found their target too late as a bolt of lightning shot from Arkus's sword and was flung in the direction of the entrance we'd come through. My swords still in the man's midsection, I turned my gaze to where the lightning was going, and to my horror, saw it flying towards my wife and sons. Releasing the hilts of my swords, I began a futile dash towards them, yelling a warning as I moved.

(Lan's POV)

My gaze swung away from Colette and my little brother at my father's shout of alarm. Racing towards us was a blue streak of electrical mana. Shoving Siena aside, I turned Mattrim around, forcefully getting him out of the way as I put my back to it. There was nothing else I could do, and no time to summon. The instant I knew it would hit, I tensed, only to realize that nothing happened. Surprised, I took a peak over my shoulder, only to stare in horror when I was met with a pair of pained blue eyes. All I could do was stare back at her as she smiled, until I heard my father's frantic, panicked shout

"Colette!"

And then she collapsed.

(Colette's POV)

I could feel the pain rippling down my back, and fought the urge to scream. Everything felt like it was burning, like fire spreading from my lower back to every other end of my body. My fingers tingled, and I stiffened. The ground was unwelcomingly cold.

"Colette!" Somebody lifted me off the floor and I was thankful when the cold turned into warmth, as I was held in the arms of the speaker. I stared up quietly, till I recognized the pair of eyes staring at me full of worry. Lloyd. Smiling, I reached a hand out to touch his face. One of his shaking hands held my wrist when I fingers came into contact with his cheek, and I heard him shout something frantically at the professor. I wanted to tell him not to worry, not to look so sad, but the words I wanted to say seemed to turn into fluid in my mouth, and I had to cough to clear my throat, as the strange liquid escaped, and a small trickle ran down my chin.

"Mom?" All I could do was look out the corner of my eye at my son, who stared at me pleadingly. All I could offer him was a smile.

"Lloyd, I can't- she's already-" Was that Raine speaking? I couldn't be sure, and the images in front of my eyes refused to come together. The hand holding my wrist tightened, and I wondered why everyone seemed so sad. Was I crying? I couldn't tell. Small drops of water hit my face, I guess I was. But wait, they weren't my tears, so who-? I smiled again when I recalled his name again. Lloyd. My husband. I closed my heavy eyelids, and wondered what would happen next. This was the end, right? Shouldn't I ask Martel for guidance? That's right, Martel isn't a goddess, so who should I pray to with my last breath? Who was there to look after my family after I'd gone? Opening my eyes again, for what I knew would be the last time, I caught sight of black hair standing behind Lloyd, and felt a sudden wave of relief. Sheena. I could trust her to do it, I knew I could. We made a promise, right? I had to remind her, what if she forgot? Coughing again, I forced myself to speak, knowing my time would get shorter with each word.

"S-sheena? Our-" I coughed again, and tried frantically to form my last word "-promise." I didn't even know if they could hear me anymore, because everything began to get darker, as my world was ripped away from me, and replaced by an empty void of nothingness.

00000

…and that is how it becomes a Shelloyd.

Originally, I was going to end it with Colette collapsing, but added that last part since I figured I'd need to make this chapter longer to make up for my late, late, veerrrry late update

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been having a few problems writing this chapter. Mostly because I've never really killed off one of the good guys before. Well, I've never really done a death scene like this either. Also, my computer crashed (I now fear the blue screen of death) when I had it mostly done, and it's kind of discouraging to have to re write most of it all over again.

Thanks for all your patience.

And thanks for those who reviewed:

Daniel the Dragonfly: Haha, yeah, Lan actually summoned. Only the once so far, though. Thanks for the review!

Ark Navy: I seem to have a bad habit of late updates. I hope enjoyed this none-the-less. Thanks for reviewing!

Eternum123: Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure they won't do the ToS OVA in English, since they never did with Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Eternia (to my knowledge, at least). On the bright side, though, shortly after it's released, you could always look for a fan subtitled ToS OVA on the internet and download it. Or, if you wanted, you could just learn Japanese. Anywho, thanks for the review!

-Pirates-and-Rum-: The convention was awesome, thanks. I was surprised when people asked for pictures of just me, instead of me with the furuba group I was with. Guess there's lots of Uotani fans out there. Although, my little sister who was cosplaying as Kyo had her hands full with Kyo fan girls. She was almost afraid to leave the group (I'm a slightly overprotective sister, so I had to fend ppl off for her). Thanks for reviewing!

SunFrost: I had to ready back a few chapters too, just to make sure I wasn't screwing things up. Sorry for my lack of updating, that called for re-reading. Thanks for the review!

Miori942: Seems I've made you wait a little too long, ne? Oops. Anyways, have fun with school and thanks for reviewing!

Lapin-Joyeux: Haha, next chapter, Siena will be doing random things at Lan's expense, so you're not too far off the mark that she'd randomly kiss him. Thanks for the review!

Chux: Yup yup, it's a shelloyd. Unless I resurrect Colette, which I have no intention of doing (as heartless as that sounds…). Thanks for reviewing!

Wow, 111 reviews. You guys all rock. You're all so freaking awesome. That's the most reviews I've gotten for a fic so far. ::happy squealing::

Also, I might be writing an alternate ending if enough people are interested in one.

Ooh, and before I forget to mention, I just wanted to say that if any of you guys are anime fans, and you've never been to an anime convention, go to one. They're seriously the greatest fan based activity. Ever.

Thanks again to all who reviewed, and I'll try to update again soon (I'm working full time now, so I can't promise a date, but I can promise that I do intend to finish this fic. Like I've said a dozen times already).

ciao


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